ASIRT clears officer of any wrongdoing during 2020 arrest in Cold Lake where man shot

An RCMP officer who shot a man during an arrest at a commercial lot in Cold Lake in 2020 has been cleared by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT).

The report, which was released Nov. 24, found that the officer’s response was proportional and reasonable. The assailant had rammed his vehicle into the officer’s vehicle and drove forward towards the officer. This entitled the officer to respond with force because he felt his life was threatened.

The incident happened on Jan. 11, 2020, after Cold Lake RCMP got a complaint of a break and enter in progress at a commercial lot. The responding officer said he saw a suspect run to a red car so he pulled up his marked police truck behind it and stopped, the report states. The officer got out of his vehicle when the red car backed into the police vehicle and pushed it backwards.

The officer drew his weapon and yelled commands before calling for backup on his radio. The suspect backed his vehicle into the police vehicle a second time and then began driving towards the officer. The officer then fired his service weapon at the car four times and held the driver of the vehicle at gunpoint until backup arrived.

The suspect was shot once in his left calf. Police seized a rifle from him.

Police called emergency medical services to help the suspect and he was taken to hospital and released a few hours later.

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