No offence committed by officers in Calgary woman's fatal fall from 5th-floor balcony: ASIRT

Alberta's police watchdog said Friday that officers did not commit an offence in the death of a woman who fell from a fifth-floor balcony during an attempted arrest in Calgary. 

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate how a 31-year-old woman died during an attempted arrest by Calgary police in 2019. 

On Friday afternoon ASIRT released a report on what they believe happened that day.

They said the woman and her boyfriend were suspected of drug trafficking, specifically fentanyl.

The police watchdog said it suspects the woman and her boyfriend moved between various Airbnb rentals in Calgary, and were also suspects in a non-fatal shooting earlier that year. 

Officers were granted a warrant to search the fifth-floor apartment in the 200 block of First Street S.E.

CBC previously reported that the woman died after apparently falling five storeys from a balcony at a downtown Calgary apartment as police tried to arrest her during a drug-related search warrant.

"In this case, there is no overt action or use of force on the part of police," ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson wrote in his decision, which detailed the circumstances surrounding the woman's death. 

The report said the woman appears to have attempted to evade police by leaving the apartment and scaling over and down her fifth-floor balcony. ASIRT says it is unknown whether she fell from the balcony after losing her grip or if she intentionally tried to jump to escape.

"In this case, it is clear that the affected person died as a result of significant blunt force injuries resulting from her falling five floors to the ground," Ewenson wrote. 

"The officers on scene were acting in the lawful execution of their duties, and had judicial authorization to enter the residence. The affected person was presented with several opportunities over an extended period of time to surrender to awaiting CPS officers by just walking out the apartment door." 

Ewenson concluded that the woman's death was tragic, but added that there were no reasonable grounds or reasonable suspicion to believe that any of the officers on scene committed an offence.