Calgary police officers cleared in 2024 shooting death in Penbrooke Meadows standoff: ASIRT

Officers involved in a 30-hour standoff that paralyzed a man won't face charges.

Calgary police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the 2024 shooting death of a man in southeast Calgary.

Patrick Robert Kimmel, 45, was shot to death by police on Friday, March 15 after barricading himself inside a Penbrooke Meadows home for more than a day.

Kimmel’s 30-hour standoff with the Calgary Police Service (CPS) started at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 14 when officers attempted to execute a search warrant at a home in the 300 block of Penswood Way S.E.

Police evacuated the block and using a loudspeaker, asked everyone inside the residence to leave it.

Everyone did but Kimmel, who had a troubled youth, and a long criminal history.

According to a report from the province’s police watchdog, at the conclusion of the 30-hour long standoff, Kimmel opened fire on police from inside the house.

“[Kimmel] presented as extremely motivated in his efforts to not be arrested,” the report said. “He withstood prolonged and significant gas exposure designed to get him to exit the residence. He was equipped with body armour and was in possession of multiple firearms, large amounts of ammunition, and a grenade, which he threatened to detonate as a “last resort.”

“He continued to shoot out of the residence at police and struck their armoured vehicles in specific locations where officers were positioned inside, which suggests he deliberately aimed these shots at them.

“This belies an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to those officers. [Kimmel] repeatedly referenced that he was “not going back to jail,” and that “[the police] would have to kill him.”

At 8:30 p.m. on March 15, Kimmel was advised by a police negotiator that the basement of the house was going to be flooded in addition to having more gas deployed into it.

“The AP (Kimmel) became very upset as water filled the basement,” the report said. " The negotiator told him to exit the house without anything in his hands. [Kimmel] advised the negotiator that he would “come out shooting.’”

Kimmel was observed climbing the basement stairs armed with a loaded shotgun and wearing body armour as he fired multiple shots into the backyard, where five officers were stationed.

All five officers returned fire, killing Kimmel as he reached the top of the stairs.

“At the time of his death, he was wearing a tactical vest which had a live grenade affixed to the front. He was also had a loaded black pump-action shotgun along with a bag of additional ammunition,” ASIRT said.

The report concluded that, “There is no doubt that the [officers involved] responded reasonably by firing at [Kimmel].”

“Each of the officers reasonably believed that they or other officers and civilians in the vicinity were in mortal danger when [Kimmel] began to shoot at police from inside the residence.”

With files from CTV’s Melissa Gilligan