Canmore RCMP officer found to have acted reasonably in 2023 shooting

(Supplied/RCMP)

No charges will be laid against a Canmore RCMP officer who shot and seriously injured a suspect during a confrontation at a police checkpoint more than a year ago.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was called to investigate an officer-involved shooting that took place in Canmore.

The report detailed an incident that took place shortly after 11 p.m. on the night of Feb.24, 2023, when the subject officer (SO) conducting a check stop on Rundle Drive near Three Sisters Drive, wearing a high-visibility jacket marked “POLICE.”

Around 11:09 p.m. a white Buick Verano driven by the affected person (AP) approached the check stop but then took a U-turn and drove away.

The SO got into his vehicle and followed the AP, who drove towards downtown Camore before turning around and driving back towards the original checkpoint. The roads were covered in snow and ice, and the AP’s car slid around at times.

They were driving at moderate speeds but as the limit was 30 km/h in places, they were likely speeding and the AP didn’t stop at any stop signs, committing a number of traffic offences.

The SO radioed in the situation and continued to follow the AP, but at 11:11p.m., said he was going to stop following him. He shut off his emergency lights and sirens and continued behind him.

At 11:11 p.m., the AP took a left turn at Rundle Drive and Eighth Avenue, and the SO followed, when he saw a muzzle flash come from the AP.

Audio recordings caught a bang that coincided with the muzzle flash and then the passenger side window of the SO’s van sprayed debris.

'Shots fired'

The SO radioed ‘shots fired’ and said he intended to pursue the AP, re-activating his emergency lights and sirens.

The AP reversed course, driving back towards downtown Canmore at higher speed. He drove through downtown and then back on Eighth Avenue toward Rundle Drive. The SO radioed in that he had a single bullet hole in his windshield.

The AP drove into a residential area at high speed, turning left on to Seventh Avenue when a second bang was recorded at 11:14 p.m. The AP was a bit beyond video range so it wasn’t caught on tape, but the SO said, “He’s shooting at me.”

The AP drove through downtown again into a residential area, driving through stop signs at high speed, which caused his car to skid a number of times.

Cul-de-sac

At 11 Ave., he braked, fishtailed and then drove into a cul-de-sac with snow.

The SO followed him and stopped his unmarked police van at 11:16 p.m.

The AP tried to reverse, but his tires spun out on the ice and snow, and he was only able to move slightly.

The SO radioed in that he had the AP pinned in an alley and got out of the vehicle, firing three shots at the AP. The second shot hit the back passenger window.

Following the third shot, the AP raised a hand to his head indicating he may have been struck by a bullet. Then he started to drive forward, with tires continuing to spin out.

The SO fired two more shots but the AP kept driving. He fired twice more, appearing to hit the vehicle’s rear window both times.

The AP’s vehicle started to turn back towards the SO just as a witness officer (WO) approached the scene.

'Hands up! Hands up!'

The SO fired another shot at the vehicle as the AP continued to try to accelerate on the ice.

As the WO was arriving, the SO fired two more shots. The WO drew his handgun, and yelled, ‘Hands up! Hands up!”, as the SO fired five more shots.

During this time, the AP appeared to be continuing to try to drive away.

He also appeared to have a dark object in his hand, which the officers believed was a handgun. The SO fired six more shots, causing the AP to move to the passenger side of the vehicle, before he opened the door and ran into some nearby trees.

A K9 unit was requested and the officers waited for it to arrive.

At 1:03 a.m., officers searched the area, where they located the AP, who was seriously injured in a nearby yard. He was treated by EMS at the scene, transported to Canmore Hospital and then flown to Calgary hospital by helicopter.

'Proportionate, reasonable and necessary'

Investigators found that the SO responded appropriately, as he had reason to believe the AP was trying to kill him. He also revealed in an interview after the incident that he had a clear shot at the AP as he ran away, but didn’t shoot, because he felt that wasn’t right.

“The SO was required or authorized by law to respond as he did, and he did so reasonably,” the report concluded. “His uses of force were proportionate, necessary, and reasonable. As such, the defences available to him under (Section) 25 and (Section) 34 of the Criminal Code are likely to apply.

“There are therefore no reasonable grounds to believe that he committed an offence.”