Blood Tribe mourns local cowboy who died during police arrest at Calgary hotel
Global News
Jon Wells is being remembered as a kind man from the Blood Tribe who was an accomplished steer wrestler.
Jon Wells, 42, from southern Alberta’s Blood Tribe has been identified as the man who died in Calgary Police Service custody last week.
Wells is being remembered as a kind man who was an accomplished steer wrestler.
“A very gentle man who was dedicated to the community and his family, and to his, I’ll say, hobby of rodeo — he was a role model in that,” said Eugene Creighton with the Indian National Rodeo Finals (INRF).
Wells was the 2012 INFR Steer Wrestling Tour Champion, making him the best in North America in the INFR circuit. Creighton says to reach that level of success required Wells to commit significant time to his practice while balancing a job and his family life.
“In rodeo he was very competitive,” said Creighton.
Wells died on Sept. 17 when Calgary police members were called to the Carriage House Inn.
In a statement, CPS says officers responded to reports of a man causing a disturbance and refusing to leave. CPS says Wells was acting erratically, adding officers attempted to de-escalate the situation but he was not cooperative. As a result, officers deployed a taser and OC (pepper) spray.
According to police, shortly after being taken into custody, Wells went into medical distress and despite efforts from EMS, died at the scene.
