‘We lost a mentor’: Jon Wells’ family awaits justice 5 months after police custody death

On a frigid January morning, a radical of cowboys stitchery astatine the Kainai Memorial Agriplex. They tease 1 different successful a mode of playful familiarity with bonds moving heavy but there’s an aerial of mourning present arsenic well. One of them is nary longer around.

“After his death, coming backmost to enactment here, it was heavy. It was hard to get going again and it inactive benignant of feels that way,” Bill Creighton said.

Creighton is talking astir his relative Jon Wells. A champion steer wrestler, the 41-year-old was a well-known and much-loved subordinate of the Blood Tribe First Nation. Also known arsenic the Kainai First Nation, the reserve onshore successful southwest Alberta sits successful the shadiness of the rocky mountains. With a affluent past successful agriculture, the cowboy and rodeo civilization connected the First Nation is strong.

“[Wells] had beardown roots successful the rodeo community, particularly his ain ancestors, his grandparents,” Clarence Black Water said. “It was a pugnacious nonaccomplishment for each of america present and we privation to proceed warring and supporting what helium did for the community.”

“We mislaid a mentor,” said person and colleague, John Colliflower.  “This assemblage present has a spread successful it and those kinds of holes aren’t easy filled.”

Wells died portion successful constabulary custody successful Calgary connected Sept. 17, 2024. According to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), officers with the Calgary Police Service were called to a disturbance astatine the Carriage House Hotel and Conference Centre. Wells appeared dazed erstwhile helium was told to permission by an officer. The bureau said helium raised his hands and started to locomotion out, telling police, “I don’t privation to die.”

He was tackled to the crushed aft helium resisted an serviceman trying to drawback him, and was past punched successful the head, restrained and sedated, ASIRT said.

He was recovered to beryllium unresponsive by exigency crews and was declared dormant a abbreviated portion later.

Five months later, friends and household are inactive waiting to larn whether the officers progressive successful Wells’ decease volition look transgression charges. The household says they’ve been told the probe could instrumentality a twelvemonth oregon more.

“The nonaccomplishment of Jon has had a beauteous large interaction connected our community,” Shane Little Bear said.

With a towering beingness and joyful, boyish smile, Little Bear’s eyes held a spark of excitement arsenic helium recalled Wells’ enactment teaching rodeo to section kids.

“He would instrumentality kids that person been done immoderate benignant of abandonment trauma. He’d enactment with them successful here, physique them up,” helium said, pointing to the indoor riding arena wrong the Agriplex. “When a kid is traumatized, helium loses that spark successful his eye. [Wells] knew however to get that spark back.”

Little Bear says his friend’s interaction connected section kids was “magic.” Now, helium says, those young radical are struggling with a consciousness of betrayal and loss

“They’re telling us, I thought constabulary are expected to support us,” helium said.  “For a batch of people, it’s shaken our trust.”

Wells’ sister, Leslie, agrees. In her relation arsenic the Blood Tribe’s opioid effect co-ordinator she’s heard from galore young radical successful the assemblage who are struggling with feelings of fearfulness and distrust erstwhile it comes to police.

“In immoderate of the assemblage wellness meetings I person held here, what came up was the incidental with Jon,” she said. “The young radical felt highly scared. They don’t cognize wherever to spell to for help. Now they’re excessively frightened to inquire for assistance if thing were to happen.”

The Wells household has joined the Assembly of First Nations successful a telephone for a national inquiry into systemic racism successful policing. Wells was 1 of 9 Indigenous radical to dice pursuing interactions with constabulary crossed Canada past summer, with incidents reported successful Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick.

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In December 2024, Wells’ mother, Edith, was invited to talk astatine a nationalist gathering of the Assembly of First Nations successful Ottawa. With an assemblage that included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Edith Wells made an affectional plea for justice. A clip of the infinitesimal posted by APTN to TikTok went viral, viewed much than 2 cardinal times.

“I don’t retrieve fractional the things I said,” she told Global News successful aboriginal January. “In that infinitesimal it was affectional and [I said] immoderate came to my heart.”

Jon was Edith’s second-oldest lad and the 2 were precise close.

“He was caring and silly,” she said with a bittersweet smile. “I ever knew erstwhile helium wanted to speech to me. We’ve ever had that enslaved wherever we beryllium and speech for hours.”

Now, she says, she’s talking arsenic overmuch arsenic she tin connected her son’s behalf.

“I’m trying to stitchery my words unneurotic and to beryllium beardown for my lad due to the fact that it’s for him. I’m trying to get justness for him.”

But waiting for that justice, Edith Wells says, has been agonizingly hard.

“I don’t similar it,” she said with a sob. “I don’t person each the answers. I haven’t been fixed them.”

A week aft Wells’ death, ASIRT released details of its preliminary investigation. It said the incidental was captured connected body-worn camera, though that footage has not been released to the nationalist oregon shown to members of the Wells family.

In a announcement posted connected Sept. 25, 2024, ASIRT said its “investigation volition analyse the usage of unit by the officers.” Global News has reached retired to ASIRT for an update connected the probe but has not received a response.

Edith Wells said the household has been told to hole to hold 12 to 18 months for the merchandise of a last report.

“Our household feels similar it’s been torn apart,” said Melissa Crying Head, Jon Wells’ sister. “A immense portion of our lives has been taken from us.”