Alberta’s police oversight agency has concluded that an RCMP officer was justified in fatally shooting a man high on methamphetamine during a violent incident in June 2021.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) reported that the man had assaulted a woman, choked her dog, and stole her car keys. He was under a no-contact order with his girlfriend but had been secretly driven around by her roommate.
While in a paranoid state, the man forced the roommate to drive him toward Cold Lake. During the ride, he choked the dog and threatened the woman, who managed to escape with the dog but was chased and attacked by the man.
When RCMP officers arrived, they found the man in a fenced area. He fled into the woods, and when a police dog was deployed, the man ignored commands and stabbed the dog. In a struggle, one officer shot the man in the shoulder, and he later died from the injuries.
An autopsy revealed high levels of meth in his system. ASIRT found the officer’s use of force to be justified, stating there was no evidence of wrongdoing. The police dog survived the stabbing and recovered.
