Editor’s Note: the report includes details that may be disturbing to some readers.
The Prince Albert police officers who arrested Boden Umpherville committed no offences during the incident and will not be charged, according to a Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) report released on Friday.
Umpherville was arrested in the early morning on April 1, 2023 after being found in a vehicle that was reported stolen just hours before, but went into medical distress while in custody. The SIRT report included a breakdown of the methods officers used to arrest Umpherville, as well as the medical treatment provided before he was taken off life support in a Saskatoon hospital on April 24, 2023.
“Both the force employed by the Subject Officers in effecting the arrest of the affected person, and the restraint and response that followed that arrest, fall within the ranges that are protected by law,” SIRT Civilian Executive Director Greg Gudelot wrote in the report. “Accordingly, there are no grounds to believe that any Subject Officer committed any Criminal Code offence during the course of this incident.”
Gudelot wrote that the autopsy report listed “cardiac arrest, caused by positional asphyxia, and cocaine intoxication” as the cause of Umpherville’s death. Prince Albert police officers used Conductive Energy Weapons (CEWs) 15 times during the arrest—four of which were “warning arcs” with the remaining 11 being “trigger presses” that resulted in nine discharges.
Gudelot wrote that is was “impossible to confirm” whether the discharges resulted in neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI). After reviewing download data, Gudelot wrote that it was possible in four instances.
“The forensic pathologist notes that while it is possible that the prior deployment of the CEW may have sensitized the affected person’s heart to some degree, making it easier for the heart to go into sudden cardiac arrest, this possibility was identified as being unlikely,” the report reads.
Officers also used batons, OC spray, and physical strikes while trying to remove Umpherville from the vehicle. Gudelot wrote that officers deployed the OC spray from the passenger side while Umpherville was sitting in the driver’s seat, but it had no effect on him.
Officers hit Umpherville with collapsible batons on multiple occasions. Gudelot wrote that it was unclear whether the batons struck the vehicle or Umpherville’s body.
Gudelot also wrote Umpherville’s “persistent struggle, even after being handcuffed” factored into the analysis of the officers’ response.
According to the report, Umpherville did not give his real name to police when asked, did not comply with requests to raise his hands after he was accurately identified, and had active warrants out for his arrest. Gudelot wrote that Umpherville “braced himself within the vehicle” when officers tried to pull him out, swung his arms at them, and attempted to reach into his clothes.
Gudelot wrote that Umpherville was able to get into the driver’s seat, shift the vehicle out of park, rev the engine, and drive forward, colliding with a police vehicle. When officers continued to try pulling him out of the vehicle, Gudelot wrote, Umpherville tried reversing course causing the tires to spin.
Once officers removed Umpherville from the car they found a handgun in his possession that had been reported lost or stolen from an owner in B.C. in 2022.
“The force employed in this case consisted exclusively of intermediate use of force options, namely CEWs, collapsible batons, and OC spray, as well as empty hand force, such as physical strikes,” Gudelot wrote. “Despite the eventual result of this incident, none of these categories of force can be said to fall within the category of force that is likely or intended to cause grievous bodily harm or death.”
Gudelot wrote that the toxicology report identified the presence of cocaine and metabolite within Umpherville’s body at levels that were “consistent with the ingestion of a large amount of cocaine prior to the collection of the samples.”
Nine police officers were involved in the investigation, eight of which provided the SIRT with voluntary statements and access to their notes. The report also identified “numerous civilian witnesses” who were interviewed, including paramedics, several bystanders, and other people who were in the vehicle with Umpherville at the time of the arrest.
Umpherville reported difficulty breathing after being arrested, and paramedics reported that his heart stopped while he was loaded into an ambulance.
Paramedics performed chest compressions and provided Umpherville with oxygen. A second ambulance with specialized equipment for mechanical chest compressions was called to the scene. That ambulance transported Umpherville to hospital, and his pulse briefly returned before ceasing before arrival.
Umpherville was transported to hospital in Saskatoon the next day where he remained on life support with no brain activity. Umpherville was unable to breathe on his own, according to the report. He was taken off life support on April 24 and passed away on April 26.
Umpherville’s death sparked several protests in Prince Albert, including one outside the Prince Albert Police Service’s (PAPS) 15th Street building on July 1, 2023. On Friday, the Prince Albert Police Service said they had received the report, but were still reading it.
“We will take the coming days to review the report in its entirety before making further comments publicly,” reads the PAPS statement. “We recognize the significant impact that Boden’s death has had on his family and friends and our thoughts remain with them during this difficult time.”
Chase Sinclair was one of the individuals who helped organize Justice for Boden protests in Prince Albert. He is also the founder of the Justice for Boden Facebook group, which had more than 1,700 members as of press time.
On Friday, Sinclair was frustrated and angry with the SIRT’s response.
“It was expected, sadly,” he said. “This is historical. People on this side of the fence don’t get represented in the proper ways—and never have—and probably never will. That’s why I made this page.”
Sinclair said it was “not a good thing” to have a governing body defend the officers’ actions. He said the report showed a lack of accountability.
“It’s just one-sided,” he said. “When do we matter? When do victims matter?”
Sinclair was also upset with the amount of time it took the SIRT to complete their investigation and file their report. He posted about his frustrations on the Justice for Boden Facebook page, saying he had reached out to the Ministry of Justice, among others, about the delay.
He was not happy with the response.
“It’s all lip service,” he said. “(It’s) ‘we’ll do better, we’ll try harder.’ Then the next case it’s going to be the same.”
Sinclair said he’s worried SIRT reports like this will desensitize residents to Indigenous people dying in custody. He’s hopeful this report will inspire Indigenous people to fight for better treatment similar to how George Floyd’s death inspired residents in the United States.
“What I would like to see is the nation saying, ‘enough is enough,’” he said. “This is a big thing and people need to be aware of that. It can’t be swept away. There has to be some sort of accountability, and that means some sort of charge needs to laid.”
The Daily Herald emailed out to the Ministry of Justice for comment about the length of time the investigation took. In an emailed statement, the Ministry said there are a variety of factors that influence how long investigations take, such as the amount of witnesses that need to be interview or external reports that need to be reviewed.
“SIRT completes its investigations as quickly as possible; however, depending on the case, there may be extenuating factors that require the SIRT to take extra steps to ensure the accuracy of its investigation,” reads the statement. “The Ministry is confident SIRT is striking the appropriate balance between timeliness and thoroughness.”
