An Airdrie RCMP officer was cleared of any wrongdoing in a police-involved shooting incident earlier this year in Rocky View County.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) came forward with its report and decision on Nov. 2.
“The subject officer’s (SO) actions throughout were required or authorized by law and he acted on reasonable grounds,” said the ASIRT report, concluding the woman shot was apparently suicidal and presented a clear threat to the officer’s life when she charged at him with knife on Feb. 12.
The incident took place at near the intersection of Highways 564 and 9 just inside Rocky View County.
The woman who was shot seven times by the officer was interviewed on Feb. 28, stating she was suicidal and had initially planned to find a semi-truck to run her over.
The report outlines that she then decided to force police to shoot her by running at the officer with a knife in her hand.
Under Section 25 (s.25) of the Criminal Code, police officers are permitted to use as much force as necessary for execution of their duties, stated the report.
Where this force is intended or is likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm, the officer must believe on reasonable grounds that the force is necessary for the self-preservation of the officer or preservation of anyone under that officer’s protection.
In this case, the report stated that the force used, discharging a firearm repeatedly at a person, was clearly intended, or likely to, cause death or grievous bodily harm.
The report concluded that the officer was justified in responding with his firearm under s.25 and s.34, which allows an individual to defend themselves on reasonable grounds if force or threats are being used against them.
“As a result, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed,” the report said.
The incident was captured on video by a Calgary Police Service (CPS) helicopter air watch community safety (HAWCS) helicopter, and on cameras in the RCMP vehicles, which provided key objective evidence in the investigations.
The incident
Calgary Police Services (CPS) received a 9-1-1 call at 1:50 p.m. on Feb. 12 from a caller who was concerned that she was suicidal.
While officers responded to an area east of Calgary, with a CPS helicopter to assist, the woman was not located until 3:35 p.m. in her vehicle on the side of a highway.
She then sped off and was followed by an officer and the helicopter.
The report claimed the woman was “driving extremely fast, including at speeds of over 175 km/h, and often on the wrong side of the highway.”
At one point, the report recounts that she flew through a stop sign, catching air, and continued driving on the wrong side of the road.
After turning around mid-chase, she briefly went off the road and into the ditch.
In an interview, she later claimed she turned around to re-engage with the police.
At 3:51 p.m. the report stated the subject officer (SO) used a tire deflation device, puncturing her tires and forcing the vehicle to a stop.
As the SO stopped behind her, she exited her vehicle with a knife in her left hand and a beer in her right.
In the Feb. 28 interview, she claimed she grabbed the knife because she thought that the police would not shoot her unless she had something.
On video from the police vehicle, the SO can be heard yelling, “drop the knife!”
She charged at the officer, yelling expletives, while continuously being told to drop the knife.
The SO moved backwards and drew a handgun and a conductive energy weapon (CEW), which is a handheld weapon that fires two small dart-like electrodes and delivers electric current.
The woman reached the rear of the officer’s police vehicle and then attempted to go into the police vehicle.
“The SO recognized at this point that he could attempt to de-escalate the situation by moving away from the [woman],” the report stated. “However, the [woman] then attempted to get into his police vehicle, which would have created a profoundly serious danger to him and other users of the highway.”
At this point, the report claims the officer ran back to his vehicle and fired his CEW at her, which was unsuccessful.
“The SO used his CEW on her but she pushed through the pain and continued to move toward the SO,” the report stated based on an interview with the woman.
“With the threat still present and having exhausted reasonable alternatives, it was necessary for the SO to fire at the [woman] at that time,” the report said.
The SO then fired seven shots at 3:53 p.m., hitting the woman and causing her to fall to the road and drop her knife.
HAWCS video showed her falling to the road after being shot by the SO.
The officer then approached her, kicking away the knife, and assessing her.
According to the report, the woman claimed she then told the officer it was her goal to die and she did not want to hurt any police officers.
Other officers arrived within one minute to provide first aid.
An air ambulance was used to transport the woman to hospital where she was treated for seven gunshot wounds to her chest, midsection, arms, and legs. She required surgeries and stayed in the hospital for some time.
In the officer’s recount of the incident, he stated he could not continue running backwards before tripping and putting himself in danger.
“He feared that the [woman] would cause him grievous bodily harm or death and fired at [her] until she stopped advancing,” the report said.
The officer conducted himself carefully and showed restraint at the beginning of the incident, concluded the report.
“His actions were reasonable,” the report stated.
The investigation was comprehensive, including interviews with eight individuals who recounted the same story.
ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
