St. Albert RCMP gave a public statement Wednesday saying the Alberta RCMP will be reviewing the controversial arrest of a minor at a St. Albert playground on the weekend, and the actions of the officers involved.
“In terms of recommendations and things that could have been done differently or better, you know that will all be part and parcel of the investigative report and the incident review,” Insp. Ryan Comaniuk said during the press conference.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested Sunday at the Lacombe Park playground, according to an RCMP statement, who police say was acting "erratically."
St. Albert RCMP received a 911 call at 4:24 p.m. on Oct. 2, about a male who was “exhibiting erratic behaviour” at the Lacombe Park playground, Comaniuk said.
“The initial information that we had was that this individual was possibly impaired by drugs. That was the initial dispatch to the RCMP,” said Comaniuk.
An officer was dispatched to the playground but could not locate the teen.
At 5:30 p.m. a second call to 911 was received describing the same individual, said Comaniuk, and officers were dispatched a second time.
“Officers arrived and located the male suspect who was observed to be acting in an erratic manner,” said Comaniuk.
Comaniuk said officers were unable to determine his identity and due to concerns for his safety, he was taken into police custody at the St. Albert RCMP detachment.
While in the cells the teen began to engage in self-harm and police immediately contacted EMS. The teen was given first aid and transported to hospital at 6:45 p.m., said Comaniuk.
At 7:26 p.m. the St. Albert RCMP received a missing person report and “investigators were able to identify the missing 16-year-old male youth as the individual that had been involved in the aforementioned incident.”
Cpl. Deanna Fontaine also spoke during the press conference Wednesday.
“What I can say is that this individual was taken into police custody ... he was co-operative, but wasn't able to provide information to the police in terms of his identity. In a sense, it's hard to explain, but during his time with the police, he did try to harm himself, which was concerning for the police,” she said.
Fontaine said officers were concerned about his personal safety and called EMS.
Comaniuk was unable to say whether it was a mental-health situation, “for respect to the individual's privacy.”
In response to a reporter’s questions about why the press conference was called, Comaniuk said it was because of people expressing themselves on social media platforms.
“As things have evolved through the course of the day, we wanted to get some word out to the media,” he said.
On Oct. 5, Laura Hawthorne, who identified herself as the parent of the teen, wrote a post on a St. Albert social media page. The post read:
“Wondering if anyone knows who reported my Autistic 16yr old, playing at the playground behind his grandparents’ house at the Albert Lacombe School on Sunday, to the police? He was not a man on drugs. He is a child. And was severely traumatized by the subsequent arrest and visit to JAIL, sedation, and ambulance trip to Royal Alex. You had my child kidnapped. I hope you feel good about your standards. He has NEVER hurt anyone. And has played at that park for 10 years. How dare you?”
The post had around 271 comments.
The Gazette has reached out to Hawthorne but has not received a response.
The teen is no longer in police custody and no charges have been laid, said Comaniuk.
Hawthorne has stated publicly she has set up a GoFundMe account for a lawyer’s consultation fee to “attain video footage, and advocate so this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Hawthorne said in the GoFundMe description.
