ASIRT rules police officer justified in 2018 shooting

An Edmonton cop’s use of force was justified when he shot and killed an armed suspect in a 2018 stolen vehicle case, the provincial police watchdog has ruled.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed on Aug. 18, 2018, to investigate the circumstances surrounding an officer-involved shooting that followed a hit-and-run call near Yellowhead Trail and 66 Street, a news release said Friday.

Police responded in an unmarked police car to an auto dealership in the area where witnesses had provided the licence plate of the car that turned out to be stolen.

“While the unit was unmarked, the emergency police lights were activated, and, as confirmed by civilian witnesses, the fully uniformed officers and unmarked vehicle were both easily identifiable as police,” reads the ASIRT release.

“As the car had been identified as a stolen vehicle, and had allegedly been involved in a hit-and-run accident, officers parked the police vehicle in a manner intended to box that vehicle in, to prevent a possible criminal flight.”

The officers shouted for the two men inside the vehicle to get out of their car. The man in the front passenger seat got out and followed orders to get on the ground. An officer approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and noticed he had a sawed-off lever-action rifle pointed toward the passenger side.

ASIRT said an interview with the vehicle’s passenger confirmed the driver had a gun on his lap.

“This officer yelled, ‘Gun, get back’ at the other officer, and commanded the man to drop the weapon. The man verbally refused, stating that he would not drop the gun, that officers would have to shoot him, and that he would shoot police,” the release said.

The driver then raised his gun toward the cop on the passenger side of the vehicle and fired a shot. In response, the officer on the driver’s side of the vehicle shot at the driver multiple times.

A toxicology report from an autopsy showed the 30-year-old driver had alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana in his system.

He was also found to be wanted on a Canada-wide warrant.