Edmonton – The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating a traffic stop south of Edmonton that turned deadly on Saturday night.
A Wetaskiwin RCMP officer pulled over a vehicle near Ma Me O Beach at around 10 p.m. under suspicion the driver was impaired.
While the officer was reportedly attempting to arrest one person for impaired driving, an altercation allegedly broke out.
“The confrontation occurred with five males who were inside the suspect vehicle that he had stopped on a suspected impaired driving investigation,” says ASIRT Executive Director Cliff Purvis.
During the altercation, the RCMP officer reportedly pulled out his gun and fired several shots.
“Two males from inside the suspect vehicle were shot. One male was pronounced deceased on scene and the other was taken to hospital in Edmonton, where he remains in stable conditions,” says Purvis.
Larry Cutarm is the father of both the men who were shot, including his son Lance who was killed.
“My son was going this way and one of them cops shot him. They even tasered him after they killed him. They tasered him,” claims Cutarm.
Cutarm says he and his two sons were on their way to a friends home for a party.
“We were drinking, sure, but we were maintaining. We were coming here to have a party with these guys,” says Cutarm. “I was driving ”
Family members gathered at the scene Sunday, upset about the loss of the 31-year-old, and upset because of the way they say RCMP handled the situation.
“I just pulled in this morning, finding out my brother was dead, shot for no reason. He wasn’t even armed,” says the victim’s sister, Lori Cutarm.
Global News contacted ASIRT to respond to the allegations. ASIRT directed calls to the RCMP. The RCMP says it trusts ASIRT will thoroughly conduct an investigation into the incident which could take months.
The family of Lance Cutarm wants answers now.
“We want justice. We want justice,” says Lori Cutarm.
There’s no information at this point whether the other four men who were in the vehicle will face any charges.
ASIRT is an independent body established by Alberta’s Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security with a mandate to investigate incidents or complaints involving serious injury or death of a person resulted from the actions of a police officer.
With files from Jenna Bridges
Comments