EDMONTON – Prior to killing Edmonton Police Service Const. Daniel Woodall, Norman Raddatz used social media to express his anger towards authority.
On Facebook, Raddatz posted photos of Edmonton bylaw tickets he had received, calling them “more harassment.”
“Edmonton bylaw is an extortion racket paid for by our tax dollars to go about robbing us of more dollars,” Raddatz added.
Court documents show he was charged last year with seven bylaw offences, including parking an RV outside his home for longer than allowed.
A year ago, after receiving one ticket, he wrote, “They will have to drag me to court by force. I will not voluntarily enter a corrupt admiralty court.”
READ MORE: Who is Norman Raddatz, the gunman in Edmonton police shooting?
Raddatz’s Facebook page has been confirmed to be under the alias ‘Dino Stomper’.
In many of his Facebook posts, Raddatz suggested a corporate conspiracy that included police, government, the court system and bylaw officers.
“Take these corporate a**h***s to task and hold them accountable for cruelty, trespassing and harassment.”
During one online discussion, he singled out police.
“Note how TV pigs never have proper warrants, use threats and intimidation, and break other laws.”
READ MORE: Edmonton police were investigating gunman for anti-Semitic bullying
Last year, Raddatz allegedly mounted an online campaign of extreme bullying against another Edmonton man.
The harassment was specifically anti-Semitic, according to police, and the target and his family became so concerned for their safety they filed a complaint a few months ago.
On Monday evening, police went to Raddatz’s home to serve him with documents ordering him to appear in court on a charge of criminal harassment. They also had an arrest warrant stemming from a bylaw offence.
When Raddatz wouldn’t come out, police left to get a Feeney warrant. When they returned, they brought a battering ram to break in. That’s when bullets started flying through the front door.
Const. Woodall, 35, was killed and Sgt. Jason Harley, 38, was shot in the back but survived thanks to his bullet-proof vest.
READ MORE: Edmonton police Const. Daniel Woodall, 35, killed in west-end shooting
More than 50 bullet holes were found in a home across the street.
Moments after the shooting stopped, the house started on fire. Police later found a body in the basement of the burned-out home and believe it is Raddatz, although an autopsy is needed to identify the remains and the cause of death.
When asked about the shooting earlier this week, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said he was shocked by the tragedy in Edmonton, which he described as a cold-blooded murder by a member of a right-wing extremist group.
When Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht was asked Tuesday about the suggestion that Raddatz was somehow connected to Freeman-on-the-Land, he replied, “We have absolutely no information to that extent.”
“Freedom of the Land is a part of a sovereign citizen movement,” explained Christian Leuptcht, a terrorism and security expert at Queens University and the Royal Military College Of Canada.
“It’s a movement that, in essence, does not reflect the authority of the State. They’re closely linked to militia groups in the United States and so, as such, are also closely linked to guns. This is a movement that originated in the U.S. but has spread into Canada. But Canadian chapters tend to have close links and affiliations with U.S. chapters.”
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