Mountie cleared by ASIRT after two men injured in 2018 Maskwacis shooting

Alberta's police watchdog has cleared an RCMP officer of any wrongdoing after two men were shot in Maskwacis in 2018.

On Oct. 21, 2018, police received numerous 911 calls reporting gunshots in Maskwacis, starting just before 9:30 p.m. Two officers were conducting foot patrols in the Samson townsite of Maskwacis investigating the gunshots when just after midnight on Oct. 22, 2018, more gunshots were heard in the A block of the townsite.

One of the officers fired his carbine in response to the gunshots, striking two men.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) interviewed both men who were shot, both officers, and civilian witnesses.

Both men said they were drinking alcohol and had fired a few bullets from a long-barrelled rifle from behind a house. They described shooting bullets into the air and not at any people or objects.

One man was treated for a gunshot wound to his upper right thigh. The second had three bullet fragments recovered from his knee.

Both officers said they came upon the two men and saw them fire at least two shots into the air. The officers split up and the second officer yelled at the men to “drop the gun.” Then another shot was fired with a flash coming from the muzzle that appeared to be in the direction of the first officer, ASIRT said in a Thursday news release.

The officer told ASIRT investigators he heard what he thought was the fired round go through the leaves above him and believed the person with the gun had seen him and “was firing at him, intending to kill or seriously injure him.”

He then fired his gun at the men. He said there was no reaction to his first shot so he did not think he hit anyone, and then fired a second round.

A camouflage Winchester .270 bolt-action rifle was recovered at the scene and only two shell casings that matched the officer's carbine were found.

ASIRT'S report stated there are “no reasonable grounds” to believe the officer committed any offence.