Edmonton officers sought injunction before Mathios Arkangelo police shooting documentary shown

'Chief Driechel reached out to personally clarify that the action was intended to ensure officer safety amid active threats, rather than to censor the documentary'

An Edmonton non-profit says it faced an “intense and rapid legal challenge” from city police just days before screening a documentary about Mathios Arkangelo, fatally shot by an officer in 2024. The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says officers filed an injunction out of concern the documentary — which featured previously posted footage of the shooting — could identify members protected under a publication ban granted in a lawsuit launched by the victim’s family. The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHS) premiered the documentary, Unanswered: A Failed Call to Justice, at a local film festival June 28.

Renee Vaugeois, the centre’s executive director and a former police commissioner, said she sent a link to the film’s trailer to Edmonton police Chief Warren Driechel as a courtesy days before the premier. Not long after, “we were served with urgent injunction materials aiming to halt the screening and remove our online trailer,” Vaugeois said in a statement to Postmedia. Vaugeois disagreed with EPS’s claims the film “enhanced” footage of the officers, making them identifiable.

However, she ultimately opted to re-edit the film to blur their faces rather than fight a drawn-out legal battle that would delay the film. “While some in the community view this rapid legal maneuver as an attempt by police to suppress the film, JHC chose to approach this friction with direct dialogue and immediate accountability,” Vaugeois told Postmedia. “Chief Driechel reached out to personally clarify that the action was intended to ensure officer safety amid active threats, rather than to censor the documentary.”

“The footage used in the film was provided entirely by the family of Mathios Arkangelo and was already a matter of public record for two years and had been used by multiple media outlets,” she added. “However, out of respect for active court processes and the publication bans protecting individual officer identities, we chose not to delay proceedings with protracted legal representation. Instead, we acted swiftly and tactfully to adapt the footage, ensuring the officers were unidentifiable while preserving the absolute integrity of the family’s story.”

In a statement, Edmonton police spokesperson Nancy Carlson said several officers pursued the injunction “to ensure the documentary did not contain identifying information about those members, in contravention of an existing publication ban.” “A court order was issued following a cooperative resolution between counsel for the members and the John Humphrey Centre.” Tom Engel, lawyer for the Arkangelo family, said the officers are also taking legal action to compel the family to blur a previously published video of the aftermath of the shooting.

Cheryl Voordenhout, another EPS spokesperson, said that application was brought by the involved officers’ lawyer and has been adjourned with no set date to reconvene. Asked whether anyone has been charged for the alleged threats against the officer, Voordenhout declined to comment “as this matter is currently before the courts.” The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) continues to investigate Arkangelo’s death.

Vaugeois was previously a city council appointee to the Edmonton Police Commission. She resigned in 2025 after police launched a complaint to the provincial government, arguing her previous criticism of police — including her participation in another documentary — made her unsuited for the position. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber.

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