Edmonton man describes neighbour’s gunfight
Police officer killed in shootout
EDMONTON — Sitting on his back deck Monday night, Ryan Colton watched closely as three undercover police officers pulled up in a silver SUV and knocked on the door of his neighbour’s shabby west Edmonton home.
There was no response, so the officers asked for more backup. Two more officers in uniform arrived, then requested two police dogs because they weren’t sure what they were dealing with inside.
Const. Daniel Woodall approached Colton and began asking him questions about the man next door.
“He stays at home all the time, drinks a lot and that’s all I really knew about him,” Colton said. “I never talked to the guy.”
As the officers approached the home next door, Colton listened to them try to pry open the front door. That’s when someone inside opened fire, striking Woodall and Sgt. Jason Harley in a hail of bullets. Other officers scrambled to take cover.
The bullets kept flying and didn’t stop until over 50 rounds had been fired. The other officers were unable to reach Woodall during the gunfire. The 35-yearold died at the scene, despite the fact he was wearing body armour.
An injured Harley, 38, was brought to the corner of Colton’s property and out of harm’s way. It wasn’t until he removed his bulletproof vest that he realized he had been hit and had a quartersized hole in his back.
“He pulled the bullet out, gave it to another officer to determine what kind of caliber they were dealing with. They realized it was a pretty big gun,” said Colton, who compressed the officer’s wound.
“He still persisted on trying to help other officers even though he was injured. He was just dedicated to do what he had to do to save his colleagues.”
At the same time the bullets started flying, smoke began billowing from the house, eventually turning into a full-on blaze that left only a shell of the house standing.
During a Tuesday morning press conference, Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht said a body was found in the basement and police weren’t looking for any more suspects. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday to determine the identity and cause of death, but police believe it’s the suspect — Norman Walter Raddatz.
According to Knecht, the 42-year-old was known to police, but didn’t have an extensive criminal record. Officers went to his home to arrest him on new charges of criminal harassment as part of a hate crime investigation dating back to February 2014. There was no suspected threat when the officers went to the home.
“The online hatred and bullying of an Edmonton family had become extreme and the family members were increasingly worried about their personal safety, at which time the EPS became involved,” Knecht said.