Tributes to man killed in shooting
‘Proud Cree’ dies in RCMP encounter
Friends and family have taken to social media to pay tribute to the man shot and killed in an officerinvolved shooting east of Calgary on Thursday morning.
It was a little after 4 a.m. when Mounties in Gleichen, about 95 kilometres east of Calgary, pulled over a car allegedly driven by 26-year-old Cavin Poucette and his girlfriend.
Poucette was a “proud Cree” originally from Morley on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, friends told Postmedia.
Poucette’s deadly altercation with police, friends say, took place on Main Street outside the home of a friend.
According to an RCMP news release, a firearm was spotted inside the car by officers as they approached the vehicle to speak to the driver. When police attempted to arrest the driver, a confrontation ensued that ended when one of the officers discharged his pistol.
No further details on the confrontation was provided by RCMP.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, and nobody else was injured.
Poucette’s death occurred just hours before Mounties near Bashaw shot and killed a man sitting in a stolen car.
According to Alberta RCMP, that man was also shot during a physical confrontation with police. He died later in hospital.
Investigations into both shootings are in the hands of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.