Latest news with #ASIRT
Global News
12 hours ago
- Global News
Retired Mountie charged with aggravated assault in 2019 Eckville shooting
Six years after a Mountie shot a suspect in the face, charges against the now-retired RCMP officer have been laid. The incident happened west of Red Deer on the morning of April 6, 2019, when a lone Mountie was sent to investigate reports of a stolen oilfield battery. While checking vehicles parked behind a business strip in Eckville, an officer found a man sleeping in a Ford F-250 pickup truck that had been stolen from Saskatoon almost one week prior. At the time, RCMP said the officer could not confirm if this was the battery theft suspect or just a guy sleeping. The officer could see a sledgehammer and a large canister of bear spray on the truck's front seat and put down a spike belt while awaiting backup. Story continues below advertisement A confrontation then occurred between the man and the officer, ending when the member fired his gun, RCMP said. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was called in to investigate and found that during the stolen property investigation, the RCMP officer shot the man in the cheek. He was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. RCMP later determined both the truck and licence plate were stolen, and confirmed the Ford was originally from Saskatoon. On Tuesday, ASIRT said the evidence gathered during its investigation provided reasonable grounds to believe that an offence had been committed. The investigation was forwarded to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether the evidence met the standard for prosecution — which it said it did. After that, ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson determined the officer who was involved should be charged. On July 28, Geordie Erickson was charged with aggravated assault. ASIRT confirmed he is now retired. It's not known when that happened, and investigators said no further details would be released because the case is now before the courts. Erickson was released and is scheduled for his first court appearance on Aug. 28. Story continues below advertisement — With a file from The Canadian Press
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Man shot and killed by police after injuring officer with a knife: RCMP
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating after police fatally shot a man who RCMP said injured an officer with a knife in eastern Alberta on Sunday. Three Lac La Biche RCMP officers were responding to a disturbance at a local residence just before 12 p.m. when a confrontation occurred, RCMP said in a news release. RCMP said a man attacked an officer with a knife, resulting in one of the officers shooting the suspect. Police said life-saving efforts were attempted, but the suspect died at the scene. The news release said the officer who was attacked has been discharged from hospital after being treated for his injuries. The Alberta RCMP said it immediately initiated an internal review process. ASIRT, the province's main police oversight agency, will also investigate the incident.
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Man shot and killed by police after injuring officer with a knife: RCMP
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating after police fatally shot a man who RCMP said injured an officer with a knife in eastern Alberta on Sunday. Three Lac La Biche RCMP officers were responding to a disturbance at a local residence just before 12 p.m. when a confrontation occurred, RCMP said in a news release. RCMP said a man attacked an officer with a knife, resulting in one of the officers shooting the suspect. Police said life-saving efforts were attempted, but the suspect died at the scene. The news release said the officer who was attacked has been discharged from hospital after being treated for his injuries. The Alberta RCMP said it immediately initiated an internal review process. ASIRT, the province's main police oversight agency, will also investigate the incident.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Man who stabbed Mountie shot, killed in Lac La Biche: Alberta RCMP
Mounties shot and killed a man who attacked them in northern Alberta on Sunday. Lac La Biche RCMP say three officers went to check out a disturbance at a home around 11:47 a.m. A confrontation occurred, Mounties said in a news release. 'The man attacked one of the officers with a knife and one of the officers shot the man. Officers attempted life saving efforts, however, the suspect died at the scene.' The officer was treated and released from hospital. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which investigates police action possibly resulting in serious injury or death, has been directed to investigate. Lac La Biche is located 200 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Alberta watchdog's ruling on Winnipeg police fatal shooting of Nigerian student expected in August
A decision over whether Winnipeg police officers were justified in the fatal 2023 shooting of a Nigerian international student is expected by the end of August, the out-of-province police watchdog tapped to conduct the investigation says. Afolabi Stephen Opaso, 19, was shot dead by officers responding to a well-being call at a Winnipeg apartment building on Dec. 31, 2023, the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) of Manitoba has said. The agency investigates all serious incidents involving police in Manitoba. Winnipeg police said the call involved a possibly armed man who was acting erratically. Opaso, a University of Manitoba student, was armed with two knives when officers shot him, then-police chief Danny Smyth told reporters a day after the shooting. In January 2024, the IIU tapped its Alberta-based counterpart to take over the investigation into Opaso's death to avoid any perceived conflict of interest, after it said a Manitoba Justice employee was found to be a "close relative" of a police officer involved in the shooting. Opaso's family has been vocal about their wait for answers over his death in the months since. Last December, the family released a statement expressing deep frustration as they continued to wait for the independent report into what led to Opaso's death. The family released another statement on Monday, urging the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) to release a formal written update on the status of its investigation within seven days. "This continued delay is unjustified and quite disturbing for us, and we genuinely wonder if our beloved brother will ever get justice," said the most recent statement, provided to CBC News by the Opaso family's lawyer, Jean-René Dominique Kwilu. A decision is expected by the end of August, a spokesperson for the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) told CBC News on Thursday. Kwilu says he didn't hear back from ASIRT after sending the family's most recent statement to the police watchdog. He said the watchdog's decision is "long overdue," as questions have swirled about alleged discrepancies between police's account of the shooting and Opaso's roommates, including whether Opaso was holding a weapon before his death. "We'll see what the investigation findings are, and then the family will know what their next steps are," Kwilu told CBC News on Thursday. He had not informed Opaso's family of the watchdog's update at that point. The family is considering whether to sue Winnipeg police over Opaso's death, Kwilu said. The family hopes the watchdog's final report will help them understand what information emergency dispatchers gave the officers who responded to the call, and how much time police had to talk to each other before providing their accounts of what happened, Kwilu said. The family also wants to know whether all the gunshots fired were necessary in the officers' response and whether there was a racial component to how the case was dealt with. Opaso's death disturbed Winnipeg's international student community, and it has broader implications for families with loved ones who struggle with mental health issues, he said. "Beyond just Afolabi, if there are some reforms that are needed, then those reforms must be tackled, especially in the areas of police and mental health, and how to respond to these calls," Kwilu said.
