On July 28, 2013, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed by the Director of Law Enforcement to investigate an officer-involved shooting.
In the early morning hours of July 28, 2013, a Calgary Police Service (CPS) officer responded to Freeport Boulevard on a “suspicious person” complaint and located a man forcing the ignition of a grey Dodge Caravan with a screwdriver. The man refused to exit the vehicle when ordered. When the officer attempted to remove him, the man drove the vehicle forward, dragging the police officer approximately 1.5 meters before he was able to disengage. The man fled the scene in the stolen van, hitting three parked vehicles in the process.
Shortly thereafter, the stolen van was located being driven southbound in the northbound lanes of Deerfoot Trail. The vehicle was being operated on damaged wheel rims and without headlights. Given the significant risk posed, it was decided that the stolen vehicle needed to be stopped. While underneath the 64th Avenue and Deerfoot Trail NE overpass, the suspect van jumped the curb and drove onto the ramp for westbound 64th Avenue NE.
Two marked CPS police vehicles were damaged and disabled attempting to stop the stolen van. Another CPS vehicle was able to get by the two disabled police vehicles and made contact with the stolen van as it drove west on 64 Avenue, causing it to spin out of control and come to rest on the west side of the bridge on 64 Avenue NE, facing eastbound. The police vehicle came to rest facing westbound, immediately adjacent to the stolen van, with the passenger side of the police vehicle touching the passenger side of the stolen vehicle along the entire length of the vehicles.
The officer sitting in the passenger seat, unable to exit the vehicle from his side, removed his service pistol and fired three shots in the direction of the front driver seat through the passenger windows of both the police vehicle and the suspect vehicle. When the man attempted to exit the stolen van, he was subsequently arrested and detained.
The man was examined on scene by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) but refused any medical attention. A cut to the man’s lower left side of his back was later noticed while being processed into cells. The cut was believed to be a graze wound from a gunshot injury. The injury was relatively minor. EMS was called to the police station where the wound was treated and bandaged.
ASIRT Executive Director Susan D. Hughson, Q.C., received the completed investigation and upon reviewing it, forwarded the investigative file to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) for an opinion. After consultation with the ACPS and after very careful review of the evidence,
Ms. Hughson confirmed that the officer involved will not be charged with any criminal offences arising out of this incident.
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.