Calgary investigators 'worn down' after 8 homicides in a month
A father of four killed while reportedly defending a woman and her children. A 15-year-old stabbed to death, allegedly by another teen.
Those are just two of the eight cases that Calgary police homicide unit has had to deal with in the past month alone — while juggling in an unusually high caseload that often saw investigators working 20-hour days.
"As the point person for the homicide unit, I guess I can say we're tired," acting Insp. Paul Wozney, who is in charge of the major crimes section, told the Calgary Eyeopener on Wednesday.
"These are extremely gruelling investigations."
His Calgary Police Service team of 10 to 14 investigators put in 20-hour days for the first week or so after each homicide, he said, "and that's not an overestimate by any means."
"We start to get worn down after a while," he said. "That's not to say we're not still going to give 100 per cent — 'cause we certainly are — but it does get gruelling after a while."
The homicide detectives are hoping for more help, Wozney said.
But a Calgary police spokesperson told CBC News any request for more staff or resources wouldn't be considered until the next budget is approved.
'Increasing complexity of crime'
The police service's proposed budget will be considered by city council next week. After that, police administrators will look at whether the unit needs more staff.
"It is no secret that our members are working tirelessly … to deal with the increasing complexity of crime as well as the increase in the number of calls we attend. All in a city that continues to grow," a statement from the service said.
Calgary has had 26 homicides so far this year.
Last year, 30 people were killed, and there were 37 homicides in 2015, police figures show.
In the past week:
- Humberto Panameno, a father of four, was killed while reportedly defending a woman, her mother and her children. The woman's estranged spouse has been charged.
- Police charged two men in the death of Timothy Albert Voytilla, who was fatally injured in the Tuxedo Park neighbourhood last spring.
- Officers charged a teen with first-degree murder of a 15-year-old boy, Leslie Sun Walk.
Wozney said the quality of investigations won't suffer despite a recent and unusually high workload.
"The investigations don't just end when a person's arrested," Wozney said. "We're always — right up until court, really — we're trying to piece together what happened and the motives and the cause and effect of what's going on with these offences."
The investigations of these recent homicides suggest all eight appear to be isolated and not connected — so not committed by "a serial predator," he said.
The victims and accused people in the various deaths are not related to each other, and each was driven by a different motivation, for example, domestic conflict, drugs or money.
"Some of them I tell you we even scratch our heads and wonder why somebody lost their lives over something as trivial as some of the reasons," Wozney said.
- Listen to acting Insp. Paul Wozney discuss the latest homicides:
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener
