Calgary officer cleared in deadly exchange of gunfire in Falconridge

Crime scene tape is shown in Calgary on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A Calgary police officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a man in the community of Falconridge two years ago.

The shooting happened as officers attempted to arrest two men in the 5700 block of Falsbridge Drive N.E. on Oct. 18, 2023.

Alberta’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), released a report on the shooting on Tuesday.

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In it, ASIRT said the men were wanted in connection with an attempted murder the week prior during an attempted carjacking.

Both were believed to be armed and dangerous.

Attempt to arrest suspects

“The goal was to arrest both males at a location where it was safe for both the arresting officers and the public,” ASIRT said in the report.

On the day of the shooting, police were monitoring a stolen Acura “associated” to the two men.

While they were unsure if a man in the back seat was one of the two suspects, they had confirmed the driver was.

The driver parked the car and went inside a restaurant, returning with food.

ASIRT said officers made the decision to arrest the driver while the men were “distracted by eating.”

The officers moved into position around the vehicle and deployed two “distraction devices” onto the hood.

Shots fired

ASIRT said one of the officers approached the vehicle with a metal bar designed to break car windows, but was shot at multiple times by the man in the back seat – who they later determined was the second suspect they had been seeking to arrest.

ASIRT said one of the bullets hit the officer’s arm.

Upon seeing the suspect had fired shots, another officer fired his gun at the man, hitting him with multiple rounds.

“This resulted in [the suspect] ceasing to pose any further threat to the officers,” ASIRT said.

He was removed from the vehicle and given emergency care, then taken to the hospital where he later died.

His autopsy showed he suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

ASIRT concluded the force used was “proportionate, necessary and reasonable.”

As a result, ASIRT said there are “no grounds to believe that an offence was committed.”