Alberta man died while in RCMP custody, family seeks proper investigation
Posted Aug 18, 2022 7:20 pm.
Last Updated Aug 18, 2022 7:22 pm.
A family are asking questions after a man was arrested by Grande Prairie RCMP and later died in their custody on June 3, 2022.
RCMP received a call from the victim, Addison Hartzler, where he asked for help with what he believed to be a break and enter in his home.
When the RCMP arrived, they didn’t find evidence of a break and enter. As a result, the RCMP took Hartzler into custody for public mischief.
According to a statement released by the family of Hartzler, they say RCMP took nine minutes after arriving to decide to arrest him.
After a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act to Alberta Health Services was requested, the family learned that Hartzler was seen alive at 9 a.m., which was more than two hours before RCMP placed a call to EMS.
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EMS reports that Hartzler was “obviously dead,” and had been for some time. The family wants answers regarding the two-hour gap between when Addison was last seen alive and when EMS was called.
“Due to the circumstances surrounding his death, we believe there was gross negligence in respect to the care provided to Addison while in custody of the Grande Prairie RCMP and their staff, and that an internal investigation by the RCMP is neither appropriate nor adequate,” said Gregory Hartzler, who is from Calgary, and is the father of the victim, in a statement.
“As a result, we implore the Government of Alberta to direct ASIRT to handle the investigation.”
According to RCMP, Hartzler wasn’t assessed by EMS or a doctor. They also say that Hartzler’s behaviour indicate that EMS or a doctor should have assessed him prior to being detained.
RCMP say mischief was cause for arrest
The officers who arrested Addison said he “was either unwilling to provide his name, or was unable to provide his name, and therefore, they were holding him in order to identify him when he was willing to provide his name to the charge.”
RCMP also report that Hartzler was acting in a psychotic and delusional manner.
“It is our view that, given his alleged state of health, Addison was unlawfully detained and that the RCMP failed to provide the necessaries of life,” says Gregory Hartzler, the father of the victim. “We believe these system failures resulted in Addison’s untimely death.”
The family says that the RCMP are handing the investigation over to ASIRT, who was created with the purpose of investigating situations where Alberta police may have caused serious injury or death.
Marlin Degran, assistant deputy minister for Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, said that he directed RCMP to oversee the investigation. He also said that ASIRT was dealing with shortages, saying he is “taking into consideration the tasking events recently given to ASIRT.”
“Because there was no report of confrontation with police, and no indication of negligence on behalf of the police, I directed that the RCMP should retain carriage of the investigation,” Degran said.
Hartzler’s family believe he was taken into custody unlawfully, and cites the Criminal Code of Canada, where it says that officers need to have reasonable grounds to prove a false report was made intentionally, and that there was an “intent to mislead.”
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“It’s disappointing to see an agency set up by the Alberta Government as a police agency ‘watch dog’ is simply too over tasked and underfunded to actively investigate the death of an individual in police custody. It is suspicious this case is being treated differently than a recent case with seemingly similar circumstances,” Hartzler said.
According to RCMP policy, members must “check prisoner[s] frequently and at irregular intervals to ensure their security and well-being. The intervals are to be no more than 15 minutes apart. These checks must be physical checks, not a check of the CCVE.”
The RCMP are under investigation for a similar death in custody that occurred on February 8, 2021, at the same detachment. ASIRT is actively investigating that incident.
