Edmonton mother says police didn't do enough after son died from opioid overdose
An Edmonton mother says she's frustrated with the way her son's death was handled by the Edmonton Police Service — and now she's fighting back.
Mioara Whytock's 18-year-old son Calum died on April 28, 2017, after drinking codeine laced with carfentanil.
Whytock claims a girl who knew her son gave Calum the drink.
The second-year MacEwan University student's death was deemed non-criminal and no one was ever charged by police.
Whytock and her husband filed a complaint to Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht, saying the investigation was done improperly.
She also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last November and says she didn't receive any response. She wrote again to Trudeau and Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould.
In the letter she wrote, "I am a frustrated, heartbroken mother and I have such an unbearable pain of emptiness, which you may never understand."
Whytock wants the government to change the way opioid-related deaths are handled by police.
"Those drug dealers who kill our kids are going to be put away and we have to change the justice system," she said.
The Edmonton police were contacted for an interview regarding this story, however they declined.
In a written statement, a police spokesperson said, "the investigation on this file has been closed, and this death was found to be non-criminal. No charges were laid."
The Whytock family says it plans to protest the Edmonton police department starting next week.
"We are going to protest in front of the headquarters," Whytock said.
"I'm going to protest in front of the courthouse, I'm going to protest in front of the legislature, I'm going to protest in front of the city hall. Every day I'm going to protest in one of those places for justice for my son."
The Whytocks said they also plan to put up posters offering a reward for any information leading to an arrest of the person they feel is responsible for their son's death.
