Gunman who killed officer shot himself during standoff
Public given opportunity to pay respects to officer ahead of funeral
An autopsy has found 42-year-old Norman Walter Raddatz died Monday night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he murdered Edmonton police Const. Daniel Woodall.
Autopsy results released Thursday by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said Raddatz was already dead by the time fire engulfed his home.
A second officer, Sgt. Jason Harley, was wounded, but is expected to recover.
ASIRT said police attempting to arrest Raddatz on warrants related to a hate crimes investigation were “fired upon by Mr. Raddatz.”
“While police set up and maintained custody and control of the scene, Mr. Raddatz retreated further into the residence,” the statement said.
“As the standoff continued, it became apparent that a fire had started within the residence.”
The statement said Raddatz’s body was found once the house could be entered safely.
ASIRT said his death is considered to be an “in-custody death,” since it occurred inside a house that was “under the custody and control of police officers.”
ASIRT is an independent body mandated to investigate police incidents that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, and is therefore investigating Raddatz’s death.
ASIRT said Edmonton police will investigate the shooting of the two police officers.
ASIRT said no further information will be released until the investigation is concluded.
A funeral for Woodall will take place Wednesday, June 17, at 11:30 a.m. at the Shaw Conference Centre, according to the officer’s newspaper obituary.
People wishing to pay their respects may do so on Sunday, June 14, from noon to 4 p.m. at First Memorial Funeral Services in the Harmony Chapel at 10541 81st Ave.
Meanwhile, a church in the Ormsby neighbourhood where the incident took place organized a prayer walk for Friday.
The walk begins at Our Saviour Lutheran Church at 18345 62B Ave. at 4:30 p.m.
The church is about two blocks from the crime scene. The walk ends at the Good Shepherd Catholic Parish at 18407 60th Ave.
“The temptation when violence like this happens is to look fearfully out of the corner of our eyes at strangers or neighbours,” said Pastor Philip Penrod of the Lutheran Church.
“But I think that’s no way forward for our communities and for our city. If we can channel our best selves ... then we know that the solution is not to isolate ourselves further but to enter into deeper and better relationships with each other.”
The walk is open to everyone, regardless of faith. Penrod reached out specifically to the Presbyterian, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox churches in the neighbourhood, as well as the Rahma Mosque.
Participants will be given fresh-cut flowers to carry as a symbol of peace. They hope to lay the flowers at a temporary memorial at the end of the route.
Our Saviour Lutheran Church opened its doors to police, first responders and residents on Monday after Woodall, 35, was shot dead and Harley, 38, was wounded.
The incident happened slightly more than two weeks after the daylight shooting of a 33-year-old man in the church’s parking lot.
The man was seriously injured.
While that incident had nothing to do with the church, parishioners are affected by two incidents of gun violence “right in our backyard,” Penrod said.
“The initial reaction was bewilderment, shock, sadness, anger, frustration, but they’re rallying like the rest of the city.”