Lethbridge officers cleared in fatal shooting

Two Lethbridge police officers who shot and killed a man armed with a knife last July were justified in their actions, according to a provincial review.

Deu Raj Puri, 26, posed a “credible threat to cause the officers harm and ... the police officers were justified in their actions,” according to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team that investigated the officerinvolved fatal shooting.

“This finding does not diminish the devastating loss that the affected person’s family has suffered,” said Clifton Purvis, executive director of ASIRT.

“The sympathies of myself, and the members of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team go out to the family, friends of the affected person and Lethbridge Bhutanese community.”

Puri was drunk and cutting himself with a knife at the time of the shooting, a community member said.

Police were called to Puri’s home late July 15, 2012.

Three uniformed officers arrived at the house after a family member called 911, reporting Puri was intoxicated, was armed with a knife and was threatening people inside.

Officers ordered Puri to drop the knife, but say he refused and walked toward them.

Both officers shot Puri, the report says.

The 26-year old man was transported to hospital, but was declared dead.

ASIRT investigators reviewed dispatch records, 911 recordings, forensic evidence and witness statements.

Members of the Bhutanese community in Lethbridge were also consulted.

Puri, a recent refugee immigrant who spoke little to no English, had at least three other similar incidents with police.

He had spent years in a refugee camp in Nepal before settling in Lethbridge in late 2011.