Random attack led to central Alberta officer-involved shooting: ASIRT

Alberta’s police watchdog says an officer was randomly attacked by people on the side of the road before firing his service weapon last week.

A lone RCMP officer was driving near Blackfalds around 5:30 that morning when he reportedly came across a vehicle in the ditch.

The officer stopped to see if the three people attempting to get the car back on the road needed help when the men “unexpectedly attacked the officer and took the officer to the ground,” a news release from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team said.

The officer’s vehicle was equipped with an in-car recording system that not only caught the fight, but caught the men attempting to remove the officer’s equipment, ASIRT said.

During the fight, the officer was able to fire their weapon.

The three suspects then got into the marked police vehicle and drove away. Police later found the cruiser abandoned in a field near Highway 11 and arrested all three suspects shortly after.

Two of the men — a 25-year-old and a 27-year-old — were uninjured. A 26-year-old man was shot in the calf. He was taken to hospital, treated and released into police custody, according to ASIRT.

The officer reportedly suffered minor injuries.

It was later determined the vehicle that was found in the ditch was stolen. According to ASIRT, a loaded firearm was found in the glove compartment during a search.

The RCMP will be conducting the investigation into what happened before the officer was attacked, while ASIRT’s investigation will focus on the officer-involved shooting.

ASIRT’s mandate is to investigate any police activity that results in a person being injured or killed.