EPS officer and two former peace officers charged following review of 2020 death in cells

An Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officer and two former Community Peace Officers (CPO) have been charged following an internal investigation surrounding the death of an adult male who died while in police custody in 2020.

On March 16, 2020, a 38-year-old was located deceased inside a cell in EPS’ former Detainee Management Unit (DMU). An autopsy conducted on March 17, 2020, determined the man’s cause of death to be a result of fentanyl toxicity. As a result of this in-custody death, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate and a report was released on October 12, 2022 summarizing their findings.

Following the conclusion of ASIRT’s investigation, EPS investigators were tasked with the follow-up investigation, which was sent to the Calgary Crown Prosecution Service for an opinion.

Mathieu Labrie, 32, Jeffrey Mullenix, 52, and Const. Yi Yang, 35, were jointly charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life in relation to this investigation. All three accused were CPOs working in EPS’ former detainee unit at the time of the incident.

Const. Yang is currently on administrative leave with pay. The other two accused are not employed by the EPS.

As the matter is currently before the courts, the EPS is not able to provide further comment or information about the incident or investigation.