Man who set fires inside Calgary's municipal building lost testicle during arrest: ASIRT

Two Calgary police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in an incident in which a suspect lost a testicle during an arrest using a riot weapon.

The incident occurred on August 2, 2022, when the police received several emergency calls that a man entered the municipal building and started several fires inside.

When officers arrived, the suspect was still inside the building armed with a large knife. However, an Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) report released Thursday indicated the suspect had refused police commands to drop his weapon.

Two officers, armed with ARWEN anti-riot weapons devices, shot the suspect nine times over the course of 35 minutes. ARWEN devices fire plastic pellets designed to immobilize suspects in order to arrest them without the use of firearms.

Although most of the bullets hit the suspect, none of them had the desired effect of forcing him to drop his weapon or surrender, the report noted.

Eventually, one officer was able to convince the suspect to drop his bald head, and then the other officer shot him again. A police dog was also deployed and they were able to apprehend the suspect.

The ASIRT report stated that the suspect caused "extensive damage" to his genitals due to the use of the ARWEN device.

Although he underwent surgery, he lost one testicle and the other testicle was also damaged and only a part of it could be preserved.

ASIRT executive director Michael Owenson concluded in his report that the officers' use of the ARWEN, despite resulting in serious injury to the suspect, was an "unintended and unintended consequence" of the lawful use of police force.

"The use of ARWEN by the officers was proportionate, necessary and reasonable in all the circumstances," he added. Therefore, he declared that the officers "acted properly" and that there was no "illegal or unreasonable conduct" on their part.

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