Karl Miu got it on tape.
The video, recorded around 8 p.m. on Sunday, shows an officer outside a marked Edmonton Police Services van, taking handcuffs off a person pressed against the vehicle. The person stretches and speaks with the officer for some time before the video cuts out.
Miu said it happened in an alley on the west side of the Pacific Mall, a private property owned by a group for which he’s a consultant.
“The alleyway is actually a private property of the Yorkton Group, so the van is actually trespassing,” Miu, who is also vice-chair of the Chinatown Business Improvement Area, said.
While it’s concerning for him to see, Miu isn’t surprised at all. He said the practice of releasing detainees in Chinatown has been happening for years.
The same property is also where Alberta corrections officers dropped off another former inmate last month, Miu said.
Videos of these releases from provincial officers sparked widespread concerns from business leaders in Chinatown and some on city council, who called for the province to change the practice and improve its release procedures.
Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis denounced the practice and said, in that circumstance, it had happened because of human error.
‘Doing a better handoff’
At the time of the uproar around the drop-offs, Edmonton Police Chief Warren Driechel said the service is no stranger to taking people into the area.
He said then that the difference is that EPS is not bringing inmates directly from correctional facilities. The service usually picks up people in other parts of town and connects people with the services in the area, like with Hope Mission.
“I think that in the past, and probably even still today, it’s likely that we’re just dropping people off on the street. Our expectation, though, is that we’re doing a better handoff to services,” Driechel told reporters in September.
When asked on Wednesday about the recent video, Driechel reiterated that the messaging within the organization is to try to connect people with services.
There could be a variety of circumstances for drop-offs, whether they’re connecting someone with services or releasing someone related to an event that doesn’t require a court appearance, Driechel said, adding that in this specific case, the officers weren’t part of the downtown division.
“Ultimately, just dropping someone off in the street is not the desirable outcome. We know we’ve been doing it and we’re trying to work with the community and understand that,” Driechel said.
“It’s a challenge, where you have Chinatown, and you have all those services and shelters co-located there,” he added.
While the drop-offs remain a concern, the community work from EPS is something Miu and others in Chinatown have recognized.
Kat Luu, interim executive director for the Chinatown Business Improvement Area, said they’ve been working closely with EPS to improve community safety.
“We know they’re further strengthening their relationships with the right partners,” Luu said, adding that she’s aware EPS is working on improving its release protocols to help with safety.
Miu agrees that EPS has been trying hard to help, but he and others are pushing for a better release and reintegrating programs from the government to tackle the bigger problem.
He likens it to dealing with a leak in your basement.
“The first step you do is, of course, to turn off the water supply first, and then fix the flooding and the leak,” he said. “But how can you fix the flooding when the water keeps pumping inside?”
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