On September 17, 2016, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed by the Director of Law Enforcement to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting of an adult man in a shopping mall.
On September 17, 2016, at approximately 2:10 p.m., Calgary Police Service (CPS) responded to a complaint of a man causing a disturbance in the area of the Marlborough LRT station. One of the officers who responded located a man hiding behind a dumpster. When the officer approached, the man fled on foot. He entered the Marlborough Mall Sears store, with the officer in foot pursuit.
While being pursued within the store, the man produced a large machete. The officer deployed his conducted energy weapon (CEW), commonly referred to as a Taser, but it had no observable impact on the man. As the officer retreated and attempted to draw his service weapon, the man came at the officer and struck the officer with the machete causing significant and severe injury. The officer fired his service weapon and the man was struck and fell to the ground.
The officer, having sustained severe injuries, was transported by ambulance to hospital where he remains in serious but stable condition. Having sustained life-threatening injuries, and in critical condition, the 20-year-old man was also transported by ambulance to hospital and underwent emergency surgery. He remains in hospital in serious but stable condition.
The machete was recovered at the scene and was found to have been recently purchased. The blade is approximately 48.3 cm with a total length of approximately 66 cm.
Any officer involved shooting is considered a serious incident and, as such, will be thoroughly investigated to determine whether the use of lethal force is lawful and justified in any given case. The investigation should not be interpreted to suggest that there has been an identified concern about the conduct of an officer. 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. ASIRT’s attention focuses on the conduct of the officer to determine, through evidence, whether the use of force in a case was lawful. As the investigation is underway, no further information will be released.
The Calgary Police Service will maintain responsibility for the investigation into any possible offences committed by the man with the machete.