A man has been charged after being shot by a Calgary police officer early Thursday morning. At around 1 a.m. on July 30, police were called to the 1000 block of Bridlemeadows Manor S.W. for reports of a disturbance involving a man with a weapon. By the time police got there, the man had entered a home. Police say they engaged him and utilized tactics while trying to take him into custody. Police say that around two hours after the first call, the man came outside and a confrontation took place between him and the police, resulting in him being shot by an officer. The suspect was transported to hospital in critical condition. He has since been upgraded to stable condition. A 36-year-old man has been charged with four counts of assault of a peace officer with a weapon, a single count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and four counts of failure to comply with conditions of a release order. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 5. Bow and arrow His fiancée, Shanda Rea, is adamant he didn’t need to be shot. “How it was handled is unacceptable. Police should never use lethal force the way they did,” Rea said. “They have other means -- bear mace, tasers, rubber bullets, canine.” Rea was trying to remove the blood stains from their lawn and driveway on Thursday morning. She told CTV News that she and Martin were drinking Wednesday night while playing with a bow and arrow in their backyard. She says a neighbour called CPS on them. “Two police officers showed up. I told them he wasn’t here. They left,” she said, adding that she intentionally misguided officers due to a no-contact order issued for her and Martin. But shortly afterward, Rea got a phone call from police to come outside. She obliged while Martin waited inside. Police tried to de-escalate the situation so they could take him into custody. Neighbours say they saw a bow and arrow on the road not far from where Martin was shot. Rea tried to visit Martin at Foothills Hospital, but due to the no-contact order she had to leave. “He’s in critical condition. They had to remove his gallbladder. The bullet hit his liver, his intestines, his ribs. The other bullet went through his arm,” she said. “Lethal force in the chest and in the arm? It’s unacceptable.” One woman who lives in the area, says her boyfriend was woken up by gunshots, which he says went off at 2:51 a.m. “He woke me up, and then we came downstairs just to figure out what was going on. Came outside, saw that the entire street was blocked off with all the police and everything,” she said. A bow and arrow could be seen on the ground in the aftermath of the scene. According to the area resident, a woman in the area could be heard shouting, “Why was your first reaction to pull the trigger? Why was the dog not deployed? Why was a taser not shot first?” No officers were injured in the incident, police said. Alastair Luke lives next door to the home the incident took place and says the people living there moved in within the past month. “Lot of cars, lot of lights, a lot of people running around (last night),” Luke said. “Very unfortunate situation.” The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating the shooting. With files from CTV News’ Michael Franklin, Damien Wood and Tyler Barrow
