ASIRT wraps up officer involved shooting investigation in Rocky Mountain House

The SO responded to the call. He then drove on Highway 11A outside of Rocky Mountain House until he found the AP walking along the highway. At 6:15 p.m., the SO stopped and got out of his vehicle. His police vehicle’s camera captured what the AP did next, although the SO was outside of the field of view so he could only be heard, not seen.

According to the ASIRT report, The AP was standing in the ditch next to the highway when the SO stopped. The AP began to walk toward the driver’s side of the vehicle as the SO exited. The AP had both of his hands in his jacket pockets. The SO said, “did you call?” and the AP replied, “yeah.” The SO then said, “alright man, you’re under arrest, let me see your hands.” While he was saying this, the AP had walked to the front driver’s side of the SO’s vehicle. He then took his right hand out of his pocket and held something pointing down at the ground and began to move more quickly toward the SO.

The SO fired four times in quick succession, hitting the AP twice. The entire time from the SO stopping his vehicle to the last shot was approximately 10 seconds.

Affected Person (AP) statement:

ASIRT investigators interviewed the AP on July 26, 2019, while he was in hospital, and again on July 31, 2019. He said that he wanted to commit “suicide by cop” that day. After the SO stopped, he approached him in a “mean way.” He then pulled two sets of 6 Classification: Public eyeglasses out of his right pocket and held them in a downward position so that they would look like a knife. The SO then shot him.

The AP did not release his medical records to ASIRT. The AP showed wounds on his left back and chest that appeared to be entry and exit wounds. He also indicated that another shot went through his upper right thigh.

The AP said that it was not the SO’s fault that this happened, and that he did not want to ruin the SO’s career.

Subject Officers (SO) statement:

On January 20, 2020, the SO provided ASIRT investigators with a written statement through his counsel. No further questions were asked. The SO, like any person being investigated criminally, has the right to silence and does not need to provide anything to ASIRT.

The SO provided a full account of the incident. He said that, after he stopped behind the AP, he noticed that the AP was rummaging through his pockets. He was concerned about a concealed weapon. The AP began to walk toward him and came within approximately 10-15 feet of him. The AP pulled something out of his right pocket and the SO thought this was a knife. The AP closed to within 5-8 feet from him. The SO was concerned the AP would stab him, killing or seriously injuring him. He fired four times at the AP.

Conclusion:

On July 25, 2019, the AP intended to commit “suicide by cop.” He acted in a way to make the SO think that he had a knife and was about to stab him, and the SO shot him. While the AP only had glasses in his hand, it was reasonable for the SO to think he had a knife in the situation, meaning there was no reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence occurred.

—

Download the rdnewsNOW mobile app on Google Play and the Apple App Store for all the latest updates on this and other stories.

by Brock Cullen

ASIRT wraps up officer involved shooting investigation in Rocky Mountain House

What's Trending