Allegation of serious injuries during pro-Palestinian encampment removal at U of A cannot be verified: ASIRT

Edmonton police say the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has concluded its investigation into the Edmonton Police Service’s (EPS) response of encampment removals at the University of Alberta earlier in the year.

Back in May, Edmonton police removed a pro-Palestinian encampment that was set up on the university campus.

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While closing the encampment, police took three people into custody, noting none of them were U of A students.

The action taken by police also got some backlash, as members of the protest claimed at the time that several people had been injured. However, EMS confirmed to police that no one sustained any significant injuries.

The backlash is also what prompted ASIRT to begin their investigation, which found that the allegation of serious injuries cannot be verified.

EPS says they fully cooperated with the police watchdog throughout the entire investigation, including providing camera footage of the incident.

Due to their findings, ASIRT says the matter is no longer falls within its mandate, noting that complaints related to the matter would fall to the Edmonton Police Service’s Professional Standards Branch (PSB).

EPS however says, “To date, PSB has not received any complaints from the public that have standing under the Police Act.” While noting that for the complaint to have standing, the incident must have been witnessed or the individual must have had direct involvement in the incident being reported.