The weapon allegedly drawn by the suspect before shots were fired, a small sword. (RCMP K division)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

SEPT. 21, 2021 INCIDENT

ASIRT finds Red Deer RCMP officer’s use of firearm to be proportionate

Oct 24, 2024 | 1:21 PM

A concluded investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has found a Red Deer RCMP officer’s non-fatal shooting of a suspect in a Sept. 21, 2021 incident to be a reasonable and proportionate use of force.

ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson, who conducted the investigation, determined that the subject officer (SO) was lawfully executing their duties and found themselves in a situation where the use of force appeared necessary to their self-preservation and the safety of other officers.

On the day in question, RCMP received a call from an elderly male who said his stepson had broken into his home through a window, a residence officers confirmed the suspect was prohibited from entering due to a court imposed condition, although, the stepfather reported that he generally ignored that order and kept a room for the suspect to occasionally stay in.

Multiple officers responded to the scene, where the SO informed the suspect he was under arrest and asked him to put his hands behind his head and walk backwards towards them. Officers reported the suspect did not comply and retreated into the bathroom behind him, where the SO observed him with a knife in his hand.

Multiple witness officers reported hearing the SO shout a warning about the knife and ask the suspect to drop it before they heard two shots fired. Details of the moments between the SO observing the weapon and shots being fired are not completely clear as the encounter reportedly took place within just a few seconds, resulting in some conflicting witness statements.

SEPT. 21, 2021 INCIDENT

ASIRT finds Red Deer RCMP officer's use of firearm to be proportionate

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The suspect reported that he did have his hand on a knife at his hip, but only stood in the hallway, while officers reported he was advancing on them with the weapon raised before shots were fired.

The suspect did confess to consuming methamphetamine about five to ten minutes before the incident.

One shot missed and another hit the suspect in the neck, causing a through-and-through wound which he was treated for at the hospital before being released.

Ewenson acknowledged in his analysis that investigations of this nature are not assessed on a standard of perfection nor hindsight. Rather, the principles of proportionality, necessity, and reasonableness are used to determine whether the force used falls into a range of possible reasonable responses.

In this case, Ewenson found the potential threat to the safety of the officer in question and other responding officers to justify the use of potentially lethal force.