ASIRT clears officers involved in fatal pursuit

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has cleared the Edmonton police officers involved in a pursuit of a suspected stolen car in February that resulted in the death of a woman.

"After reviewing the concluded investigation, I find that the actions of the Edmonton Police Service members involved in this pursuit were justified," Clifton Purvis, director of ASIRT, said in a news release Friday.

"Further, I have concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that any of the police officers involved in this tragic incident committed any offences under either federal or provincial legislation."

On February 16, officers stopped a car after getting notification from GM Onstar about a stolen 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix with Saskatchewan plates. The car took off after officers approached the driver

The two police cruisers began a pursuit, but the officer in the main police vehicle stopped when the speed of the Grand Prix went over 100 km/hr, Purvis said at the time.

The car clipped another vehicle driving along 118th Avenue, spun out of control and slammed into a tree near 55th Street and 118th Avenue.Front-seat passengerColleen Cappo, 31, died in hospital as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.Two males in the car were also injured but survived the crash.

Shortly after the incident, Edmonton police chief Mike Boyd asked ASIRT to investigate.ASIRT is an independent civilian agency that investigates all incidents in Alberta involving police that result in death or serious injury.

While ASIRT cleared the officers of criminal wrong-doing, the investigation identified possible breaches of Edmonton Police Service internal policies, the news release said.The possible breaches, which were not specified in the release, will be passed on to the Edmonton Police Service Professional Standards Section.