Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating after a man was injured falling from a balcony during a check by Edmonton police.
On Sunday at about 7:40 a.m., police responded to a “trouble not known call” where it was reported a 39-year-old man was intoxicated and acting erratically in an apartment suite in the area of 173 Street and 68 Avenue.
Officers arrived shortly after 8 a.m. and attempted to negotiate with the man, whose behaviour, police said in a news release, continued to escalate.
Police said the man barricaded himself outside on the balcony, climbed onto the railing and dangled his feet over the edge while officers remained inside the suite.
The man climbed down a level and additional officers cordoned off an area of the ground below the suite for safety. Just before 9:20 a.m., the man fell to the ground when moving between balconies, police said.
He was transported to hospital by paramedics where he remains in critical but stable condition.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been directed to investigate. ASIRT’s mandate is to investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
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