Edmonton police backtracks, says officers did not speak with accused before Chinatown homicides

The Edmonton Police Service walked back comments made last week about EPS officers' interactions with the man who was later accused of killing two men in Chinatown. 

EPS previously said that following a call from a complainant on May 15, its officers interacted with Justin Bone. 

Bone has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the killings of Hung Trang and Ban Phuc Hoang on May 18.

Released on bail from the Edmonton Remand Centre in late April, Bone had been living with a family friend in Alberta Beach, but the living arrangement soon grew volatile. The homeowner told CBC he contacted RCMP for help on May 15 because Bone had become threatening and he feared for his life.

One of Bone's bail conditions prohibited him from being in Edmonton unsupervised, but RCMP said they dropped him off in the city so he could be near social services.

EPS initially said its officers "evaluated how he came to be in Edmonton" and that Bone "was advised to abide by the balance of his ordered conditions, and to discuss any changes with his probation officer."

At a police commission meeting on Thursday, Police Chief Dale McFee said EPS officers did not make any contact with Bone in the days before the homicides because no offence had occurred and RCMP had brought him to the city.

"We didn't have any dealings with the individual," he told reporters after the meeting.

He said EPS is examining how it made the communications error.

McFee's comments during the police commission meeting revealed new details about Bone's whereabouts between May 15 and May 18.

He said an RCMP officer told an EPS emergency communications evaluator on May 15 that Bone was going to be dropped off at Hope Mission, a shelter in Edmonton's inner city.

"There was no mention of his criminal history," McFee said.

He also said EPS later learned that Bone had not been dropped off at the Hope Mission but on Stony Plain Road, near 156 Street, and he came to stay at an acquaintance's residence until the morning of May 18.

Police commissioners questioned the chief about the series of events.