The Western Standard has learned a woman died on an LRT train in Edmonton on Thursday evening..Passengers assumed she was sleeping.."Around 5 p.m. while I was there all trains stopped due to a medical emergency on a Century Park train and everyone on that train had to get off," a witness told the Western Standard..Another witness also claimed that after the body was removed from the train, it went back into service and wasn't cleaned. The witness also believes the woman overdosed.."I'm able to confirm that at approximately 5:15 p.m., Thursday, police responded to the report of a sudden death on the LRT," Cheryl Sheppard from the Edmonton Police Service said.."The death appears to be non-criminal in nature and as such, I’m not able to provide any additional information.".Alberta sheriffs are now being deployed into downtown Edmonton by the UCP to try and get a handle on a growing surge of crime and social disorder..A 15-week pilot partnership between the Alberta Sheriffs and the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) will begin in late February..More boots on the ground will allow EPS to increase the number of patrols and expand its reach to more high-priority neighbourhoods. The UCP said the pilot will help keep communities safe by deterring criminal activity and building public trust with officers..READ MORE: UCP deploys sheriffs to downtown Edmonton to try and stop public disorder.“Edmontonians and visitors alike should feel safe in their communities and Alberta’s government is working to make sure they are safe by putting more eyes and ears in neighbourhoods where they’re needed most, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis said at a Wednesday press conference.."A larger officer presence is a direct request from EPS, Chinatown, and other downtown organizations. Partnerships and collaborations like this are going to play a key role as the task force continues to address complex issues like public safety, homelessness, addiction and mental health.”.In recent months, some say the homeless and drug addicts have taken over the system and caused complete disorder and apparent confusion.."Late yesterday afternoon, a fatal medical incident occurred on a Capital Line train. The train was taken out of service and cleaned before re-entering service. Normal operations resumed at 7:30 p.m.," Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, branch manager Edmonton Transit Service said.."Our thoughts are with the individual’s friends and family. We appreciate the work of first responders and our staff who responded at the event. City of Edmonton staff have been offered critical incident support, as well as peer support."
