On July 19, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate a fatal shooting by a Grande Prairie RCMP officers that happened earlier that day.
On July 18 at 10:36 p.m., a community peace officer in a marked vehicle had his emergency equipment activated while attempting to pull over an unrelated vehicle. The officer observed another vehicle being driven erratically, speeding away and running a red light. The officer broadcast this information on the radio channel shared with Grande Prairie RCMP.
At 11:05 p.m., another community peace officer saw the vehicle in question. She attempted to pull it over by activating her emergency lights, but it sped away. She broadcast this information on the radio as well.
At 11:26 p.m., an RCMP officer spotted the vehicle by the RCMP detachment in Grande Prairie. RCMP officers followed the vehicle outside of city limits as it continued to be driven erratically. The vehicle eventually came to a stop in a rural area and the affected person exited.
The officers gave verbal commands to the affected person. During the interaction, the affected person produced a weapon that appeared to be a firearm. Just after midnight, officers discharged their firearms, striking the affected person.
Officers rendered first aid to the affected person. EMS responded and declared the affected person to be deceased at the scene.
ASIRT’s investigation will examine the use of force. No additional information will be released.
ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
Information provided by ASIRT