ASIRT release details on Cochrane standoff, officer-involved shooting

Investigators have released more details about the weekend’s incident in Cochrane, Alta., that led to a 28-year-old man being shot and killed.

According to a release from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, RCMP and their emergency response team went to the West Valley residence with a warrant to enter the home after receiving information that the man inside had several firearms. The man was under a previous court condition prohibiting him from having guns, ASIRT said.

Police contacted the man on the phone, but several hours of negotiation failed to coax the man out to surrender.

During the negotiations, RCMP pulled an armoured vehicle behind the home, opposite the attached garage. ASIRT said five to six shots were fired through the overhead garage door in the general direction of the armoured vehicle.

Investigators later found what appeared to be bullet holes in the garage doors, seven spent shell casings and six bullet holes in a nearby garage, ASIRT said in a release.

1:31 ASIRT investigating after police fatally shoot man following standoff in Cochrane

Emergency response team members deployed a “chemical agent” into the home just before 1:40 a.m. and the man left the residence, ASIRT said. According to the release, a confrontation occurred between police and the man, and an officer fired his gun.

The man was hit and fell to the ground, ASIRT said. He received emergency medical aid on the scene. The man was taken by ambulance to hospital but did not survive the trip.

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A loaded .22 calibre semi-automatic rifle was recovered near where the man fell in the snow, police said.

A search of the home found two other guns and additional ammunition, but police wouldn’t specify the type of firearms or amount of ammunition.

ASIRT continues its investigation of circumstances surrounding the officer-involved shooting.