The family of a woman shot by an Edmonton police officer during a welfare check says her death was unnecessary as the number of police shootings across Canada has shown no signs of slowing over the past four years.
“I view my daughter’s death as a result of the abuse of law enforcement measures to address mental health issues,” the family of the woman, who has not been publicly named, said in a news release from her attorney, Tom Engel.
Edmonton police said officers were called to a welfare check. There was a risk that the woman could be injured, which is why the police entered the apartment. An altercation ensued and the woman was shot, police said.
The family says if police had taken a gradual and gentle approach, the woman would have understood the nature of the visit and would still be alive.
A Canadian Press tally shows that police shot 85 people in Canada between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15 and that 41 people were killed. The Canadian press relied on information from police and independent investigative units and their reporting.
It's a spectacular and unceasing phenomenon, says Temitope Oriola, professor of criminology at the University of Alberta and president of the Canadian Sociological Society.
Police shootings across the country
This year, the number of police shootings nearly reached the total of 2022, when 94 people were shot, 50 of them fatally. This is a significant increase from four years ago, when there were 61 shootings, 38 of which were fatal.
The findings show that more officers have fired their weapons since 2020, when the high-profile killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked global movements demanding police accountability and transparency.
Criminologists believe police officers need more training and restraint, while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) union says police officers are on the front lines of Canada's mental health crisis, where they are forced to act and face increasingly dangerous situations.
No police officer I've interacted with wants to go that route, claims Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation, which represents about 20,000 police officers across Canada. And each of them is deeply saddened by the fact that he had to fire his weapon.
Police officers have the right to be safe, says Mr. Oriola, but police shootings in Canada have been on the rise for too many years. Mr. Oriola says he is particularly concerned about the number of shootings in Alberta.
We shouldn't take responsibility for the country [à cause de] Police shootings.
There have been 21 police shootings in Alberta this year, a rate of 0.45 per 100,000 residents, a 90 per cent increase from 2020, when there were 11.
There were 28 police shootings in Ontario, a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, up from 23 the previous year. In Quebec there were nine.
There were six police shootings across Atlantic Canada, compared to two last year.
There were 17 shootings in British Columbia, compared to 24 in 2022. Saskatchewan and Manitoba also saw a decrease in the number of shootings.
There are at least two shootings this month that are not included in the count. A man has been killed in the Red Earth Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. A man was also injured in a shooting in Grand Prairie, Alberta.
Critical mental health needs
Young men continue to make up the majority of those killed by police. Ethnicity was taken into account in 18 cases and more than 60% of these were Indigenous, Black or other people of color.
Initial calls to 911 were mostly about a gun, a stolen vehicle or erratic driving. Six were active shooters.
In nearly 70% of police shootings, the person was armed. In 30 cases it was a firearm or a replica of a firearm. In 20 cases the person was in possession of a knife or other bladed weapon.
Mr. Sauvé says police shootings remain rare in Canada compared to many other countries, but police are increasingly confronting armed people. If there are guns or knives, the police have to react differently, he said.
Sometimes it's Justin Bourque, says Mr. Sauvé, referring to the man who killed three RCMP officers in Moncton in 2014.
This year, three police officers were killed while shooting at someone. Another police officer was shot and injured.
Mr. Sauvé says interactions with police have also become more confrontational, as general disrespect for any person in a position of authority increases, be it an officer issuing a ticket or a police officer trying to calm someone down and defuse a situation .
Because of the pressure on overburdened social programs, Sauvé said officials are also being relied upon to respond to mental health crises and homelessness issues.
Six shootings began with a call about a disturbance, five with an unwanted person and six more with wellness checks.
Officers have to make split-second decisions, Sauvé said, adding that the average shooting ends in less than three seconds.
He emphasizes the importance of additional training, access to non-lethal weapons and better technology for police. However, Mr. Sauvé adds, the long-term solutions lie in a societal response to homelessness, addiction and health care.
Oriola says clear changes can be made, but policing remains extremely resistant to change, even as calls for reform grow.
We should not have the same number of shootings that we have now, and certainly not the mortality rate that we are currently experiencing.
With information from Kelly Geraldine Malone and The Canadian Press