Police discuss procedure on inquiry’s last day
By James Tubb on June 17, 2022.
Medicine Hat News The fatality inquiry into the police shooting of Christopher Edmund Arkell concluded on Thursday with Medicine Hat Police Service officials and RCMP policy experts discussing how their agencies consider use of force and operate in emerging situations. A report into the March 2014 standoff, which ended when a police sniper killed the Cypress County man, will be filed with Alberta Justice Ministry but no time table was provided. It will focus on police and RCMP response and co-ordination and the use of deadly force. Such an inquiry does not determine guilt, but reports often include recommendations to avoid such incidents in the future. The hearing, conducted by provincial court Judge Kristen Ailsby, heard from 15 witnesses during four days of proceedings. They included two neighbours to the scene, an acquaintance of Arkell who was on the property just prior to the standoff, Medicine Hat police officers, three RCMP officers who attended from the Redcliff Detachment and an RCMP policy expert. An investigator with the Alberta Serious Investigation Response Team, who wrote an initial report at the time clearing Medicine Hat officers of any wrong-doing, also took the stand. Family members of Arkell were provided an evidence binder but did not participate. Throughout the week, officers described a quickly escalating standoff that involved an officer pinned down in a driveway and the suspect, Arkell, threatening him with what was believed to be a high-powered rifle. He told negotiators rushing to the scene he had killed two people, then attempted to retrieve a body before driving away from the house when a police sharpshooter killed him. “The risk to the public was too great,” said MHPS S/Sgt. Trevor Humphries on Thursday. He discussed police situation levels, telling the court that operational levels may not follow standard procedure in varying situations. He believes officers adjusted and reacted correctly in the event, which lasted only 55 minutes from initial contact to the subject being shot. “It was a less than ideal situation, but it can’t always be an ideal situation that’s presented,” he said regarding a standard flow of command and incidents. “In this case, I don’t believe there was any time for (incident command group) to get up to speed … it kept moving too fast for that to happen.” 12-11
