Two Alberta RCMP officers have been cleared after shooting at two suspects in a December traffic stop that went awry, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said Thursday.
ASIRT Executive Director Susan Hughson reviewed the evidence and deemed there are “no reasonable grounds to believe either of the officers committed any criminal offences.”
“The driver’s actions placed two police officers at immediate risk of death or grievous bodily harm and the subject officers were entitled to use reasonable, in this case potentially lethal, force to protect against death or grievous bodily harm,” ASIRT said. “The officers ceased firing within seconds, once the third officer was determined to be safe and unharmed. Both officers’ actions were reasonable and lawful in all the circumstances.”
RCMP said at the time two police vehicles were involved in a Dec. 26 traffic stop of a 30-year-old male driver who was in a stolen truck in Whitecourt, Alta. on Highway 43 approaching 51 Avenue.
ASIRT said during the traffic stop, the driver appeared impaired and failed to produce a driver’s licence, registration or insurance. As one police officer spoke to the suspect, two others stood in the gap behind the truck and one of the police cars to look at a steel bar sticking out from the trailer hitch, ASIRT said.
“As they did so, the driver shifted the truck into reverse. The officer dealing with the driver pulled out his police service weapon and warned the driver he would shoot,” ASIRT said in a Thursday statement.
“The driver proceeded quickly in reverse forcing the two officers who were still standing behind the pickup truck to scramble, one moving left and the other moving right, in order to avoid being crushed between the truck and the police vehicle.”
Officers fired at the vehicle “numerous times,” ASIRT said. The vehicle collided with another nearby vehicle before it was stopped by the RCMP.
The driver of the vehicle sustained non-life threatening gunshot wounds to his left forearm and bicep. The passenger of the vehicle was treated for minor injuries and released.
ASIRT said after fleeing the vehicle stop, the driver became “involved in incidents with unrelated citizens” before being apprehended by RCMP.
The investigation confirmed the driver and passenger were high on methamphetamine at the time; drugs were also found in the stolen truck.
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