Alberta's police watchdog will investigate whether Nova Scotia police committed a crime in a case that led to the wrongful death conviction of a man who spent 17 years in prison.
Glen Assoun was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Brenda Way in 1999, acquitted in 2019, and died in 2023.
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In 2020, the Nova Scotia government asked the province's police watchdog to launch a formal investigation into whether officers broke the law by destroying evidence related to Assoun's case.
In March 2021, Nova Scotia's police watchdog announced that its counterpart in British Columbia had agreed to take over the investigation to ensure transparency.
But in 2023, British Columbia's watchdog dropped the case, saying its staff were too busy.
In a press release today, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says its members have the capabilities to conduct an investigation.
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