Men killed by Calgary police should be identified, says head of police union
'These are not victims. They’re dangerous, violent offenders who attempted to murder three police officers'
The head of Calgary's police union says if the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team refuses to release the identities of two suspects killed in separate confrontations with officers, the city's police service should break ranks with the provincial agency and reveal both names.
ASIRT investigates whenever there is a shooting involving police in Alberta.
Les Kaminski slammed the agency last week for not revealing the identity of a man who was killed on March 27 after allegedly shooting a police officer. He called the move hypocritical, given the agency's commitment to transparency.
The second fatal police-involved shooting happened late Monday night when a plainclothes Calgary police officer fatally shot a man in Bridgeland who was allegedly trying to kill the officer.
'These are not victims'
On Thursday, the president of the Calgary Police Association (CPA) held a press conference, calling on the Calgary Police Service to release the names of both men killed in the two incidents.
"It's been a challenging two weeks for our members. On two separate calls, violent criminals tried to murder three of our officers," said Kaminski. "The officers directly involved deserve to know who tried to kill them."
Kaminski called it "ludicrous" for ASIRT to protect the names of the deceased.
"Make no mistake, these are not victims. They're dangerous, violent offenders who attempted to murder three police officers," he said.
Two incidents
On March 27, police were chasing a robbery suspect in the northeast community of Abbeydale when he allegedly began firing shots at officers.
Const. Jordan Forget was shot and suffered multiple injuries, but has since been released from hospital.
The robbery suspect barricaded himself in a garage after the exchange of gunfire. The garage caught fire.
After the fire was put out, the suspect was found dead inside. The cause of death has not yet been released.
- Eyewitness watches Calgary police officer hit the ground after shots fired
- Man dead after officer-involved shooting in Bridgeland
Kaminski praised the work of police officers that day to make sure people in the area were safe. And he said people in that community have a right to know more about the incident.
"Wouldn't you want to know who's responsible for a shootout in your neighbourhood?"
In the second deadly incident, Kaminski said it was just luck that the "violent criminal" chose to target someone who was in fact a police officer.
"It's important for citizens to see the context of these incidents, and show that officers are facing dangerous people," he said.
ASIRT said Thursday in a release that it would not be releasing the name of the 26-year-old man who was shot and killed in the Bridgeland incident, in keeping with the agency's policy and to be mindful of the man's family.
The agency said the man was out on bail with the condition he not be in possession of weapons at the time of the incident.
A knife was found at the scene.
Mother calls Kaminski 'hypocritical'
Pat Heffernan, whose son Anthony Heffernan was fatally shot by a Calgary police officer three years ago, says the position taken by the head of the police union is hypocritical, given that his organization didn't advocate for transparency regarding the name of the police officer in that case.
Heffernan was holding a syringe and a lighter when a Calgary officer shot him four times in a hotel room in March 2015.
"The public has the right to know [the officer's] name and what he looks like," Heffernan said.
But Kaminski argues that the rights of police officers involved in such cases need to be given greater consideration.
CPS said in a statement Thursday afternoon it has not named subjects shot and killed by officers, despite Kaminski's comments. The police service said that because ASIRT is the investigating body, it has jurisdiction over whether or not to release names of those involved in the investigation.
"In general, the name is only released by us if the subject survives and they are charged with a related offence. The name at that point becomes a matter of public record through the courts," the statement read.
"We remain open to conversations with the CPA [police union] on any issues they have concerns over."
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