Report into refugee death urges police to change policy
Last Updated: Thursday, May 31, 2007 | 5:35 PM MT
CBC News
Related
The judge who conducted an inquiry into the drowning of a refugee fleeing from Edmonton police is recommending police do more to help suspects who might not speak English.
Officers chased Charles Wula, 38, from his wife's apartment to the North Saskatchewan River on July 27, 2005. His body was found a week later.
A three-day fatality inquiry into his death, held in an Edmonton provincial court, wrapped up in February. In a report, dated earlier this month, Judge James Wheatley made five recommendations.
Police have already complied with the recommendations that deal with the use of police dogs, said Jeff Wuite, a spokesman for the Edmonton Police Service, on Wednesday.
More difficult to tackle, said Wuite, is Wheatley's recommendation that police "ensure that they have a policy in place to identify appropriate procedures to be followed in arrest and pursuit of non-English speaking persons."
"It might not be as simple a solution as being able to automatically identify what language someone is speaking," said Wuite. "Obviously it's going to present some challenges, but we need to put our brain power toward either mitigating that risk, or certainly reduce it."
Wuite told the Edmonton Sun that the service already has a list of police and civilian translators for more than 120 languages
Husband under a restraining order
Wula had been living in Edmonton for only a few months when police were dispatched to his wife's home near Rundle Park to answer a call of a family dispute with violence.
Wula was under a restraining order preventing him from contacting his wife, an order which dated back more than a year to their time together in a Ugandan refugee camp.
After realizing police were after him, Wula ran to the river, with officers and a police dog in pursuit.
Const. Scott Abbot testified that he ran along the shoreline for up to 45 minutes trying to convince Wula to give up. He didn't seem to be in danger.
Abbot testified the chase ended when he lost sight of Wula, who was alive and floating down the river.
Share Tools
Latest Edmonton News Headlines
- Albertans feel politics has shifted, poll finds
- Nearly six in ten Albertans believe politics in the province has changed a lot in the past few years. more »
- Two passengers still in hospital after Alberta bus crash
- Two of the most seriously hurt passengers of a Red Arrow bus that rolled north of Edmonton Friday remain in hospital, say RCMP. more »
- Judge admits confession as evidence in LRT shooting
- A judge accepted/rejected a videotaped confession from the accused in a first-degree murder trial is now in the hands of an Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench judge. more »
- Police video outlines 'crucial' evidence in homicide
- Edmonton police say they have significant new evidence in the homicide of a 29-year-old man last April. more »
Top News Headlines
- U.S. bank reforms could hurt Canadians, Flaherty fears
- Canada's finance minister and the governor of the Bank of Canada have formally complained to their American counterparts that proposed banking reforms could harm Canadian banks, business, investors and the government itself. more »
- CBC digital music service launches today

- CBC is diving into the world of online music with the goal of providing listeners access to their favourite tunes, and a way to discover new artists and connect with fellow music fans. more »
- Ontario teachers' union calls for classroom Wi-Fi ban
- Ontario's Catholic schoolteachers are calling for hardwire instead of Wi-Fi in classrooms. more »
- Whitney Houston was found unconscious underwater, police say
- Whitney Houston was underwater and apparently unconscious in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel when found, Beverly Hills police said Monday. more »
- RCMP shooting of teen in Fort McMurray investigated
- Charges laid after teen dies in central Alberta crash
- Police video outlines 'crucial' evidence in homicide
- Alberta bus crash probed as injured riders released
- Whitney Houston autopsy results withheld
- RCMP shooting suspect hoped to surrender before arrest
- Suspicious package now safe, say Edmonton police
- RCMP shooting suspect a 'quiet' photographer
- Allergy alert issued for Sweets From The Earth

