By Troy Gillard

watchdog investigation concludes

Two Alberta Mounties charged in fatal 2018 shooting near Whitecourt

Jun 8, 2020 | 2:56 PM

Alberta’s police watchdog says two RCMP officers have been charged after a 31-year-old man was shot and killed during an incident two years ago near Whitecourt.

Corporal Randy Stenger and Constable Jessica Brown are each facing one count of criminal negligence causing death after the July 3, 2018 death of Clayton Crawford.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says in a release that it all started July 2 after unidentified suspects went to a Valhalla Centre home and fired on the people inside. One person was injured while another, a 31-year-old man, fled in what ASIRT describes as “a very distinctive vehicle.”

An off-duty member told on-duty RCMP that he thought he saw the same vehicle parked at the Chickadee Creek rest stop near Whitecourt.

When police arrived just after noon on July 3, 2018, they found a man asleep in the vehicle.

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A confrontation that ensued, the vehicle started moving, and shots were fired. The vehicle went across the highway and into a ditch.

ASIRT says it reviewed the evidence and had the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service check it as well.

ASIRT’s investigation concluded last August and got a report from the Crown May 29. Charges were laid on June 5.

“There is a great responsibility placed in the hands of police officers. They are called upon to make split-second decisions in often rapidly-changing and dynamic situations that can have lasting impacts. Those decisions, unfortunately, can sometimes result in a tragic loss of life,” Alberta RCMP Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki said in a statement.

“We have immense respect for the investigations undertaken by ASIRT and the accountability that the process brings to policing. It ensures public trust and confidence remains for policing across Alberta’s communities.”

Stenger and Brown are due in Whitecourt Provincial Court July 14.