The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Shawn Maxwell Rehn, following an incident at the Apex Casino where one police officer and one auxiliary constable were shot, resulting in the death of Cst. David Wynn and the serious injury of Auxiliary Cst. Derek Bond. The investigation is now complete.
In the early morning hours of January 17, 2015, St. Albert RCMP officers located a stolen truck in the parking lot of the St. Albert Apex Casino. Cst. Wynn and Auxiliary Cst. Derek Bond went into the casino to obtain information to identify who might be in possession of the vehicle. The incident that occurred inside the casino remains under investigation by the RCMP Major Crimes Unit.
A police officer in a marked vehicle watching the stolen truck saw Mr. Rehn exit the casino, get into the truck and drive off. The police officer pursued the stolen truck until the officer lost control on the snowy roadway and became stuck.
A short time later, additional RCMP officers found the stolen truck approximately five kilometers north of the casino abandoned and stuck in the snow. An RCMP officer and his police service dog followed a track from the stolen truck to a nearby residential home. The front door of the residence had been damaged and the house alarm had been activated. Mr. Rehn had no association with the owners of the residence who were not home at the time.
The RCMP Emergency Response Team was called in and the area around the residence was contained. Police tried for several hours to communicate with Mr. Rehn but never made contact. No shots were fired by police. While attempting to clear the residence before entry, a sound similar to a gunshot was heard. Upon entry, the body of Mr. Rehn was located in a downstairs bedroom, a handgun by his hand. He had an obvious catastrophic injury to his head. He had barricaded the door to the room with a folding table.
On January 19, 2015, following an autopsy, it was determined the cause of death was a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Further investigation determined that, while in the residence, Mr. Rehn made a telephone call and told a close associate that he was going to kill himself.
ASIRT conducted a thorough, independent, and objective investigation into the actions of all the RCMP officers. ASIRT Executive Director Susan D. Hughson, Q.C., determined that the investigation did not reveal any criminal conduct on the part of all RCMP police officers involved. The evidence confirmed that Shawn Maxwell Rehn took his own life during the 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.