A suspect was shot in the leg by an RCMP officer after being pulled over for an alleged hit-and-run collision on Jan. 11. The officer that fired the shot is being investigated by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT).
Officers from the Wood Buffalo RCMP Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) say they saw a vehicle — which they later determined was stolen — on Confederation Way and the Highway 63 exit around 9 a.m.
“The vehicle was stuck in deep snow, down a sloped embankment off the side of Highway 63,” RCMP said.
The officer walked up to the vehicle and “an altercation with the driver occurred.” The officer fired their service gun, hitting the suspect in the leg. The suspect was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, RCMP said.
In an update Jan. 18, RCMP said a CO2-powered Glock replica air pistol was recovered from the involved vehicle.
Police say no other officers or members of the public were harmed during the incident.
“The RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts, and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent and defendable. This is why, as soon as we became aware of this incident, we immediately notified the Director of Law Enforcement and initiated our internal review process. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the actions of the police during this investigation.” Mounties said in a statement Friday.
Along with the ASIRT inquiry, the RCMP’s internal review process will gather information on precisely what happened during the confrontation.
The officers standing will be reviewed and RCMP says they will cooperate with ASIRT investigation.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call ASIRT at 780-644-1483.