Edmonton has 2nd-most police-involved deaths among municipal forces in Canada, database shows

WARNING: This story includes graphic details.

Yvon Chiasson didn't want to go to the hospital. 

It was Feb. 24, 2021, and he was having another manic flare-up of his bipolar disorder, the result of a switch in medication. 

He and his wife, Pamela, were trying to have a child, and his previous medication, while effective for his mental health, was affecting his fertility.

Chiasson didn't want to go to the hospital because he knew the lights were triggering for him, and he'd had a bad experience last time. 

But the police, who'd arrived in response to Pamela's 911 call for mental health support, convinced him to go, and they took him into custody under the Mental Health Act.

At the Edmonton hospital, Chiasson was placed in a secure room, where his crisis worsened. 

An hour later, he was dead after being Tasered and forcibly restrained by five officers and a security guard when he did not comply — although, as a report exonerating police later noted, "it did not appear that [Chiasson] was capable of comprehending what was said" by that point.

"There were many other steps to approach that situation," says Chiasson's widow Pamela Ripi Allivellatore.

"When you are suffering some emotional instability, you need support, not [five] police around you."

Chiasson is one of 39 people who have died since 2000 as a result of the use of force by the Edmonton Police Service, a new data project shows. CBC News has verified that number, however the EPS disputes the overall total. 

The Tracking (In)Justice project shows police-involved deaths in Edmonton are the second-highest for any municipal police force in Canada behind Toronto.

Alberta, meanwhile, ranked as the province with the most police-involved deaths per capita, and second only to Ontario in total deaths.

"It's a triple whammy," says University of Alberta criminologist Temitope Oriola.