Public Complaints Commission finds no wrongdoing by Saskatoon police officers in Evan Penner arrest

Evan Penner. (Submitted photo)

On Thursday Saskatoon Police Chief Troy Cooper said the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) investigation into a July 4th 2020 incident shows no improper conduct by the officers involved.

“I agree with that finding," he said.

"I'd also mentioned that this incident, you know, really showcases some of the challenges that we face as law enforcement relating to our interaction with mental health and with addictions."

The incident involved Evan Penner, then 27-years-old, who made allegations of abuse of authority by officers after being apprehended by SPS.

Penner, from Nelson House/Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation in Manitoba, says he was enjoying his day in the Broadway Avenue area, trying to stay cool in the summer heat.

At around 2 p.m. Penner said he walked to the 500 block of 11th Street East and started using a garden hose in front of an apartment building to continue to cool off.

"It was very hot that day and I was spraying myself on the face and the hands and I do that everywhere," he said.

When he sat down, Penner said a Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) officer approached him and tried to arrest him.

"This officer just came at me," he said. "I was just calm and he started freaking and being aggressive and attacking me and I was cooperating and everything."

A video of the incident would end up being released by the Indigenous Joint Action Coalition and Black Lives Matter Saskatoon, with members from both groups alleging excessive force was used.

CTV News reached out to a member of the Penner family for comment, and was told they were upset with the decision.

John Hansen, a University of Saskatchewan indigenous criminal justice calls the decision absurd. 

“It makes no sense to me from what I saw in the video,” he said. “Evan, he looks like a poor indigenous man who was in need of help. He's not in need of being beaten up like this.”

“The police should have helped him.” 

Chief Cooper says since the incident, the SPS has lobbied for an expanded police and crisis team with one unit put in place since last fall. It has also developed a mental health protocol to divert some mental health calls to mobile crisis workers instead of frontline officers. 

The charges against Evan Penner are still before the courts.