Mounties’ use of lethal force against El-dib’s killer considered ‘reasonable’
Alberta’s police watchdog says RCMP officers’ use of lethal force was “necessary and reasonable” in a shootout with 21-year-old Abderrahmane Bettahar days after he killed Nadia El-dib.
“While the loss of life is never the desired outcome, the man placed the officers in a situation where lethal force was necessary,” the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said in a statement.
“It is difficult to conceive of a situation that would be a better example of the necessity for the use of lethal force. The man was an active shooter, using lethal force, and was deliberately trying to kill others. He needed to be stopped before he succeeded.”
On March 25, 2018, 22-year-old El-dib was found dead behind a home in northeast Calgary. At the request of family, police released grisly details of her murder. She had been stabbed about 40 times and had her throat slit by Bettahar in his car.
She escaped the vehicle, but police said she was then shot twice with a high-powered rifle.
A Canada-wide warrant was issued for Bettahar the day after the slaying. He evaded authorities for days before being shot and killed by police on March 29, 2018, west of Edmonton, after a lengthy highway pursuit and opening fire on
Mounties.
“After about 70 minutes of highway pursuit and the evasion of several spike belts, Bettahar hit a fifth spike belt and eventually lost control of his vehicle. Once stopped, he immediately opened fire on attending officers.”
The gunfight lasted less than two minutes, with 10 rounds fired by Bettahar and 202 rounds by 11 police officers. Two officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
“His choice to open fire on officers was deliberate and immediate, and there can be no question that he presented a lethal risk. He was shooting to kill, not just to provoke a police response,” ASIRT said.
“In the circumstances, viewing the incident as a whole, the eleven officers’ resort to the use of lethal force, made only upon the man’s firing first upon police, was reasonable and justified.”
The officers involved in the incident will not face charges.
A semi-automatic rifle, which police believe was used in the killing of El-dib, was recovered on scene. El-dib and Bettahar had dated briefly but were not in a relationship at the time he killed her.
It was labelled a domestic homicide.
ASIRT said their investigation took into account police and civilian witness testimony, alongside Watchguard video retrieved from a number of RCMP cruisers.