An investigation into an officer involved shooting that took place in Ardmore, about 30 km southwest of Cold Lake, in January 2021 has found that the police officer’s “response of firing his handgun once was proportionate, necessary, and reasonable.”
An Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) report detailing the incident that took place on Jan. 22, 2021, was released on Sept. 6, 2024.
According to the ASIRT report, at about 9 a.m. on the day in question, a civilian witness noticed an unknown truck was parked in a large equipment shelter on the civilian’s property.
The truck was later determined to be a stolen Ford F-350. Inside the vehicle there were two people – a driver and a passenger.
Since no one should have been on the private property, the civilian called police at 9:29 a.m.
“Various officers responded and waited on the road outside of the property. At 9:55 a.m., the police officers drove onto the property in a column,” reads the ASIRT report.
A police dog service officer went first, followed by the subject officer – a Cold Lake RCMP member - who ultimately discharged his weapon. The subject officer was in a marked police truck, and four other officers also responded to the location.
As officers approached the equipment shed, the driver of the F-350 began to drive out of the shelter, accelerating very quickly, according to the report.
The subject officer “said that his risk assessment was high as they went into the property because he had experienced situations with stolen vehicles where the driver was armed or tried to ram police vehicles,” according to the ASIRT report.
The driver of the truck accelerated toward the subject officer, despite there being room to manoeuvre around, and the subject officer believed the driver was trying to “harm or kill him.”
“He also thought that the other officers’ lives were at risk. He drew his handgun and fired once at the driver,” reads the report.
The report states that RCMP officers “responded in a measured and safe way, using appropriate resources and planning. They were required or authorized by law to investigate, and they did so reasonably.”
The report further notes that “The stolen truck, a F-350, is a large and heavy vehicle capable of causing serious injury even when a person is inside another vehicle. When the [subject officer] responded with a single shot, he intended to cause death or grievous bodily harm. The two are proportionate.”
The situation unfolded within seconds, and the use of force by the subject officer was deemed necessary.
“There are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed by the [subject officer],” concludes the report.
It was also noted in the report that the passenger in the stolen vehicle refused to speak to ASIRT investigators.
