No charges for Edmonton officers after ‘erratic’ man stopped breathing during 2023 arrest

Edmonton police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the fall 2023 death of a man who stopped breathing while handcuffed and face down on his stomach on a southwest Edmonton street.

Alberta’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), has determined all officers were acting lawfully when placing Mazin Zaim into custody in the early hours of Sept. 20, 2023.

Police were called to reports of Zaim acting erratically and swinging an ice chipper and a metal bar outside – at the ground and at a passing vehicle – on Shaske Crescent around 12:45 a.m.

That “erratic behaviour” is the reason several police officers – five in total – responded to the call for service, ASIRT explains.

When officers arrived, Zaim complied with demands to put down the ice chipper and lay on the ground. He was then handcuffed by police. During the arrest, Zaim can be heard saying “please,” “someone help me,” and “I can’t breathe,” several times.

That interaction and the aftermath was caught on video by multiple witnesses. One of those videos was shared with CityNews by a law firm representing Zaim’s family.

CONTENT WARNING: The following video contains elements that some people may find disturbing

Police say they felt Zaim was exhibiting signs of “excited delirium”, and paramedics were called as a result. A friend of Zaim’s, who spoke to him via FaceTime earlier in the day, told ASIRT during the investigation that Zaim “appeared to him to be in a schizophrenic state of mind and appeared scared of something or someone.”

Zaim was already under arrest – with four officers restraining him by pinning his arms and legs or placing their knees on his back – when he stopped breathing. Officers noticed his lips had turned blue and they tried to resuscitate him before paramedics arrived.

The man was taken to hospital but never recovered. He died Oct. 2, 2023, when he was removed from life support, at which point ASIRT was notified.

An autopsy determined Zaim died from a lack of oxygen to the brain “due to or as a consequence of restraint asphyxia due to or as a consequence of effects of cocaine use.” A toxicology report from the hospital showed the presence of cocaine in Zaim’s blood.

“Other significant conditions contributing to the death but not causally related to the immediate cause were obesity and coronary atherosclerosis,” ASIRT’s final report reads.

In its analysis, Alberta’s police watchdog said, “Given the duties of police to protect lives, property and maintain the peace, all attending officers were lawfully placed and acting in the execution of their duties at the time of this event.”

But Zaim’s family has maintained officers were too quick to use force instead of communication during the arrest, given there were signs of mental distress, and that it took officers too long to recognize he wasn’t breathing.

CityNews has reached out to Zaim’s family for comment following the Wednesday release of ASIRT’s report.