The Alberta police watchdog is investigating after a woman was shot by RCMP Sunday afternoon.
Around 2:15 p.m. Airdrie RCMP said they received a call from Calgary police to assist with locating a vehicle that was driving erratically.
According to a news release, a Mountie located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled and the pursuit was called off.
The CPS helicopter was able to keep visual contact with the suspect vehicle and told police it was travelling at high speed, “sometimes in the oncoming lanes.”
RCMP later deployed a tire deflation device, which stopped the suspect vehicle near the intersection of Highway 564 and Range Road 245, in Wheatland County.
An officer attempted to arrest the driver, a 37-year-old woman who was the lone occupant in the vehicle; however, an altercation ensued which resulted in the officer discharging their firearm.
Police said the woman was transported by STARS Air Ambulance to a Calgary hospital with gunshot injuries. Meanwhile, RCMP said none of its officers were physically injured during the incident.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has since taken over the investigation into the circumstances of the officer-involved shooting.
No further comment from RCMP is expected.
Family claims woman shot ‘6 times’
The brother of the woman who was shot by police said his family is wanting answers, calling the shooting “aggressive in nature.”
Billy-Jo Funk spoke to Global News Sunday night and said the situation evolved after his sister had been told she needed to move out of a home due to circumstances beyond her control.
Funk said he was working with police to help get in contact with his sister after she started showing signs of mental distress.
“They had me keep texting and calling her to ping the towers, and they were following her from the radius of the towers,” Funk said.
“It started from the southwest, (she) wound up going to the southeast, all the way as far as the northeast — this happened over like, a two-hour span.”
Funk claims after her vehicle was stopped by police, officers shot at her six times, which has him wondering what their intent was.
“I know from the mental health (and) the way she was talking, talking to somebody at that point was falling on deaf ears when they’re in that state of mind and they wound up shooting her six times, which I believe is very aggressive in nature. I could see one or two times, but six seems like you’re really trying to end a life without even trying to help the person.
“We have too many cops and not enough health workers out there.”
Funk said his sister remains in intensive care and added his father told him she’s expected to stay there “for quite some time.”
“Why didn’t I struggle with her a little longer? Why didn’t I take her keys away? Why didn’t I chase her down with my van, but some people say I did the right thing by calling the cops over,” Funk said while holding back tears.
“What if I didn’t call the cops? And what if she just came home? Was I wrong for that?”
His hope is that his sister survives while he lives with replaying the events from the past 24 hours.