Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating a shooting in southwest Calgary that left a man in critical condition. Officers were called to a home in the 1000 block of Bridlemeadows Manor S.W. shortly before 2 a.m. on July 30 after someone had reported a man was firing a bow and arrow in a backyard. A Friday news release from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says police had been to the same home earlier that night. It says police learned the man was not allowed to be at the home or possess weapons according to conditions of a release order. ASIRT says the man was inside the home when police arrived. After about an hour of repeatedly asking the man to come outside without any weapons, the man left the residence through the front door carrying a bow and arrow. The release says he “moved toward officers positioned in the driveway.” “In the moments that followed, officers responded by releasing a police service dog and firing a 40-mm less-lethal impact weapon and a service pistol in close succession,” the news release said. ‘Unacceptable’ The man, identified by his fiancé as 36-year-old Danny Martin, was taken to hospital in critical condition after the shooting. “How it was handled is unacceptable,” Martin’s fiancé Shanda Rea told CTV News last week. “Police should never use lethal force they way they did…they have other means, bear mace, tasers, rubber bullets, canine.” Rea said Martin had his gallbladder removed while he was in hospital, and that the bullet hit his liver, intestines and ribs. “Lethal force in the chest and in the arm? That’s unacceptable,” Rea said. Martin has since been upgraded to stable condition, ASIRT said in a news release. He has been charged by CPS with several weapons charges in connection with the incident, including four counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon. ASIRT is part of the Police Review Commission, which is an independent civilian-led agency. It investigates potential criminal offences involving police across Alberta, including cases where a police officer’s actions may have resulted in serious injury or death. — with files from Tyler Barrow and Stephen Hunt
