Const. Maurice McLoughlin, the officer who shot Anthony Heffernan four times and killed him, resigns after Calgary Police Service (CPS) Chief Mark Neufeld sends the case to a disciplinary hearing. As McLoughlin is no longer an employee, CPS loses jurisdiction and he departs with a clean professional record regarding the incident — a consequence of Alberta’s unusual police legislation which allows this “loophole.”

Critics have pointed out the rarity of this arrangement for police across Canada, contrasting with lawyers, doctors, and other professionals who still face consequences before the relevant regulatory bodies regardless of whether they are still employed by the same entity as when an alleged malfeasance occurred.

The Alberta Court of Appeal dismisses Const. James Othen’s appeal of his convictions for assault because “he could not provide proof of an arguable legal error made by the previous Judge.”

Othen was convicted for assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon for his role in the 2016 arrest of Clayton Prince, for which he was given a 90-day sentence to be served on weekends. Dashcam video showed that Prince, an Indigenous man, had already surrendered when Othen jumped on him and began striking him. A fellow officer testified that after Prince was handcuffed, “I saw Othen take a long silver key and dig it into the back of Mr. Prince’s neck and almost kind of turned it.”

January 2021: The Supreme Court of Canada rejects Othen’s appeal, allowing an internal Police Act investigation to proceed. At the time of the decision, Othen is still an employee of CPS, albeit relieved from duty and not receiving a salary.

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020, multiple marches in downtown Calgary draw thousands of participants in the largest demonstrations against police brutality and racism in the city’s history.

June 6: Thousands of protesters gather for a vigil in Olympic Plaza, where they hear from speakers like Godfred Addai-Nyamekye (pictured) and BLM organizers.

July 11: In response to the broadcast of the television version of the film on CBC, a viewer creates a GoFundMe page for Addai-Nyamekye to help fund legal fees, physiotherapy, and other costs.

August 7: Inspired by the documentary, over 100 people march in the “Above the Law” protest in response to the Calgary Police Service’s treatment of Addai-Nyamekye. Organized by Adam Massiah, co-founder of the United Black People’s Allyship, attendees call for systemic changes at the department, including greater accountability and an increase in the number of diversity officers.

Facing an upcoming disciplinary hearing for assaulting Godfred Addai-Nyamekye, Cst. Trevor Lindsay resigns from the CPS. As with former Constable McLoughlin, Lindsay leaves CPS with a clean disciplinary record for both incidents covered in the film.

In a written statement, CPS says, “While officers can still face criminal charges after their employment ends, we do not have the authority under Alberta’s Police Act to continue internal disciplinary proceedings when a police officer is no longer employed by the service.”

Just six weeks after being ordered to a disciplinary hearing for his role in the incident that led to Anthony Heffernan being shot and killed, Sgt. Lon Brewster is promoted to Staff Sergeant. Although Sgt. Brewster did not shoot Heffernan, he was the ranking officer on the scene and potentially bears some responsibility for the actions of the officers under his command and the incident overall.

During a prolonged sentencing hearing for Trevor Lindsay following his conviction for the aggravated assault of Daniel Haworth, Judge Michael Lema rules that, beyond a reasonable doubt, Lindsay assaulted Godfred Addai-Nyamekye.

Judge Lema writes in his Reasons for Judgment that, “What the video reveals, fundamentally, is an effectively defenceless man […] who is already under the dominion of a fully-equipped police officer (with reinforcements obviously close to arriving), being punched and kneed for phantom reasons i.e. perceived risks (spitting, biting, and so on) having no rational foundation or basis. […] In the end, there was no mystery here. The video both appears to, and does, show a series of unjustified assaults.” [emphasis added]

Despite the judge’s finding, a separate criminal conviction did not result — in fact, the Crown including the incident in the sentencing hearing effectively prevents the filing of charges against Lindsay for his role in the incident.

More than two years after being convicted for the aggravated assault of Daniel Haworth, former Constable Trevor Lindsay is sentenced to 90 days in jail, to be served on weekends, plus one year of probation. The prosecution had proposed a two- to three-year sentence, while the defence had argued for a suspended or intermittent sentence of up to 90 days plus probation. Given this is a first conviction, it’s unclear whether the sentence will actually result in Lindsay physically spending any time in jail (as opposed to some form of house arrest).

A month after being handed a 90-day sentence to be served on weekends, former Const. Trevor Lindsay appeals his conviction for the aggravated assault of Daniel Haworth. The appeal lists seven grounds, including that the judge erred by, “engaging in a segmented or piecemeal analysis rather than considering the evidence as a whole”, and “engaging in speculation as a basis for fact-finding”.

In a split decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal dismisses Trevor Lindsay’s appeal of his 2019 conviction. Two of the three justices write that, “The trial judge made comprehensive and detailed findings of fact, which are amply supported by all of the evidence.” In a lengthy dissenting opinion, Justice Tom Wakeling argued that the trial judge erred in concluding that assault had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The split decision allows Lindsay to have his case heard at the Supreme Court of Canada “as of right,” and Lindsay files a notice of appeal on January 20th, 2023.

After a brief hearing in front of five out of nine Supreme Court judges (the minimum number for appeals), Lindsay’s appeal is dismissed. In their decision (also viewable here), the judges write, “In our view, the trial judge was entitled to find on the evidence before him that the appellant had no reasonable grounds to strike the person initially, and that his use of force in striking him three more times in the head and then throwing him to the ground was unnecessary and excessive on a proper standard. The trial judge’s findings of fact were amply supported by the record. We see no basis for this Court to intervene.”