UPDATE: On Sept. 8, 2023, ASIRT released the findings of its investigation and said it had concluded “there is no evidence to support any belief that any officers present engaged in any unlawful or unreasonable conduct that would give rise to an offence.” The report notes the injured civilian was walking briskly towards the subject officers with a machete that “was capable of causing death or grievous bodily harm.” You can read the report in its entirety here.
Calgary police charged a man in relation to an incident in the Shawnessy shopping area early Sunday morning.
Police responded to a parking lot in the 200 block of Shawville Boulevard S.E. for reports of an armed man making threatening statements just after 4 a.m. on Aug. 25.
The situation escalated to the point the man was shot by police, CPS said. On Sunday, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team announced it was investigating the incident.
In a release on Tuesday, ASIRT said the provincial police watchdog reviewed body-worn camera video of the altercation.
After police arrived, the man immediately started moving toward the officer with a large machete and small folding knife in his hands, according to ASIRT.
The officers backed away and, as the man continued forward, the officer shot the man in the lower torso but didn’t disarm the man, the ASIRT release said.
ASIRT said Calgary police continued to try to negotiate with the man, tried to disarm him with a less-lethal launcher, firing plastic rounds multiple times, and then used a PepperBall launcher and Taser-like conductive-energy weapon to finally disarm the man around 7 a.m.
ASIRT said the man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, including a broken femur and “penetrating wound(s) as a result of the discharge of the firearm and/or the Arwen less-lethal launcher.”
CPS said the man remains in custody in hospital in stable, non-life-threatening condition.
Calgary police charged Claresholm resident Daniel Richard Balcerzak, 35, with two counts of assaulting a police officer and assault with a weapon, one count of weapon dangerous to public peace and one count of uttering threats to cause death.
Balcerzak is scheduled to be in court on Sept. 10.
ASIRT continues its investigation into Sunday’s events, including the use of police force in connection with the man’s injuries.
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