Man Who Set Fire to City Hall Loses Testicle During Police Standoff

A report from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has cleared two Calgary police officers of any wrongdoing in an incident that saw a suspect lose a testicle in a police standoff.

The incident happened on August 2, 2022, after police were called about an unknown man who broke into the Calgary City Hall armed with a machete and set a number of fires. The man set four fires inside the building, which was extinguished by the sprinkler system, causing extensive water damage to three levels of the building.

The man refused to comply with officer’s requests to drop the machete. The officers were armed with Anti Riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) devices, says the ASIRT. This would have ensured the man is taken into custody without resorting to a lethal weapon system, like a firearm.

The ASIRT report says police tried to disarm the man with the anti-riot guns, which shoot hard plastic bullets, injuring his genitals. He was shot nine times, and although most of the shot hit him, the intention was for him to surrender to police.

Eventually, the man finally dropped the machete. Officers also deployed a police to help take him into custody.

ASIRT says the man suffered “extensive injuries” due to the ARWEN devices and his testicles had to be surgically removed, while only a portion of the other could be saved.

In the report, ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson said, “the use of an ARWEN by the subject officers was proportionate, necessary and reasonable in all of the circumstances.”

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