Alberta police watchdog clears officers in fatal shooting of suspected killer
EDMONTON – Alberta’s police watchdog says officers acted reasonably in the 2021 fatal shooting of a man suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, or ASIRT, says Mounties were investigating an armed carjacking in Parkland County and tracked a suspect to an oilfield site west of Rocky Mountain House.
It says the man, who expressed to negotiators that he wanted to get into a shootout, exited an outbuilding while pointing a shotgun at officers, who then fired their own weapons.
ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson says the man had texted a friend admitting he’d killed his girlfriend in Edmonton and seriously injured another man.
Ewenson says the suspect was non-compliant with police and the threat of death or grievous bodily harm was reason enough for officers to shoot him.
ASIRT investigates officers in cases involving serious injury or death, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of misconduct.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2025.
Credit: Alberta police watchdog clears officers in fatal shooting of suspected killer
