Police union boss raps ASIRT for Anthony Heffernan fatal shooting probe

The head of the Calgary police union says the provincial watchdog "lost its way" in what should have been a straightforward investigation of an officer who fatally shot a man last year.

Anthony Heffernan, 27, was shot during a confrontation on March 16, 2015, after police went to the Super 8 motel on Barlow Trail to investigate reports that a guest, who was due to check out, was behaving strangely and not leaving his room.  

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The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), which investigates police-involved shootings in the province, heard that officers had reason to believe Heffernan was in a drug-induced state of agitation and that a syringe he was carrying might put them at risk of exposure to a blood-borne infection. It turned out the insulin syringe he was holding had no needle tip.

ASIRT concluded that the officer who shot the man four times, ending the 72-second confrontation, was justified in using lethal force and should not be charged with a criminal offence. 

But Calgary police association president Howard Burns says the statement released by ASIRT raised more questions than it answered.

ASIRT's release noted that executive director Susan Hughson believed "there was available evidence capable of constituting reasonable grounds to believe that an offence(s) under the Criminal Code had been committed."

However, after consulting with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) and requesting an expert opinion on the use of force, ASIRT concluded, "there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction and the recommendation was that no charges be laid against the subject officer."

"It left the impression that somehow this officer had gotten away with something, which wasn't true," Burns told the Calgary Homestretch.

"And then you couple that with family members speaking out about murder and it being swept under the rug, I thought it was important to balance the discussion on this story."

Burns also says the investigation took too long, leaving uncertainty hanging over the heads of both the Heffernan family and the officer at the centre of it.

"I mean, this took 17 months to get to this point. You know, this is a fairly basic investigation. It's one hotel room with a limited number of people," he said.

An autopsy on Heffernan, who struggled with drug addiction, showed significant levels of cocaine in his system.

"The fundamental issue was whether, in the circumstances of this case, an insulin syringe, missing its tip, in the hand of a known IV drug user, who was unresponsive, irrational, and non-communicative, created an objectively reasonable belief that he constituted a threat of grievous bodily harm or death to the officers present," ASIRT said in its release.

"The Use of Force opinion found that, in the circumstances, the subject officer's conduct could be justified."

The officer who shot Heffernan was also involved in a fatal shooting in February 2016. He is now on administrative duties. 

With files from the Calgary Homestretch