Ten years after a wellness check led to the death of their son, Pat and Irene Heffernan say they’re still lacking answers from the Calgary Police Service.
Monday was supposed to mark the beginning of a five-day disciplinary hearing against two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Anthony Heffernan in 2015.
Instead, all of the disciplinary charges against Sgt. Lon Brewster and Const. Sandeep Shergill were withdrawn and the hearing was adjourned after about an hour.
“The Calgary police should be held accountable for their actions and until they’re held accountable for their actions, there will not be changes,” said Pat.
During the short hearing, the Heffernans heard the cases were being dropped in part because too much time had passed and the process would likely only result in reprimands.
A spokesperson for the Calgary Police Service said the two remaining officers that were facing potential discipline were “not involved in the alleged excessive force that resulted in Mr. Heffernan’s death.”
“This decision was not reached lightly. The loss of a child and a family member is the most profound grief there is. The outcome of this incident was terribly severe, and we acknowledge this has been a very difficult process,” said the spokesperson.
The incident
On March 16, 2015, five officers were called to a northeast Calgary motel to check on Anthony Heffernan, who hadn’t checked out of his room on time.
They found him alone in the room. He had relapsed and was using drugs.
Just 72 seconds later, Heffernan had been shot four times, including in the head and neck.
Officers said he had rushed at them with a syringe in his hand, which they later found out had no needle.
3 officers resigned
The incident prompted investigations by RCMP and the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT).
ASIRT recommended charges against the officer who fired the shots, Const. Maurice McLoughlin, but Crown prosecutors did not pursue criminal charges.
Three officers have since resigned from CPS, meaning they avoided any penalties.
Two of the remaining officers, Brewster and Shergill, were facing disciplinary action before the cases were dropped on Monday.
Heffernan’s parents say they want to know why Brewster, the sergeant at the time who was promoted to staff sergeant months later, didn’t have other plans made when they entered the room.
Officer’s lawyer relieved
The lawyer representing Shergill says the dropped charges come as a relief.
“This is a matter that’s been going on for over a decade. So you can imagine having that hanging over your head, so to speak, for 10 years,” said Shamsher Kothari.
Kothari said he was prepared to argue that CPS had no grounds to lay disciplinary hearing charges against Shergill in the first place.
Doug King, a criminal justice professor at Mount Royal University, said it’s a tragic situation that leaves the Heffernans without answers.
“Our job as citizens of the province of Alberta is to hold our elected officials accountable. And the question I have is, are they comfortable with the justice the Heffernan family received?”
Alberta’s Ministry of Justice would not comment on this specific case, but a spokesperson said it’s awaiting results of a review into ASIRT‘s policies and practices.
‘Do we miss him? Absolutely’
In the meantime, the Heffernans say they plan to appeal the decision. They’re also in the process of scheduling a meeting with CPS’s acting chief, Katie McLellan.
They smile when they remember what their youngest son was like.
“He was our fifth child and his brothers and sister adored him. So, do we miss him? Absolutely, we do,” said Irene.
“He was just fun to be around because he had such a quick wit and such a wonderful sense of humour,” said Pat.
“And a wonderful laugh,” added Irene.
