Two Mounties from northern Alberta are now facing homicide charges after an home invasion incident led to a wounded man being shot to death..Cpl. Randy Stenger and Const. Jessica Brown, were initially charged with criminal negligence causing death following the July 3, 2018 incident..It was the first time the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team charged a police officer in relation to a shooting death..“Shortly after the officers were charged, responsibility for the prosecution was transferred to prosecutors with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General at the request of the ACPS. After consultation with the Ontario Crown, on Sept. 3, 2020, a replacement Information was sworn jointly charging both officers with the offence of manslaughter,” ASIRT said in a Thursday release.. Defying crackdown, hundreds march against lockdowns in Calgary .At the time of the incident ASIRT said: “On July 2, 2018, a 31-year-old man was in a residence in Valhalla Centre (near Grande Prairie) when unidentified perpetrators attacked the residence and fired upon the occupants. While one occupant was injured during the incident, the 31-year-old man (Clayton Crawford) was able to flee the area in a very distinctive vehicle. As RCMP officers began to investigate the incident, they sought to locate and interview the man as a witness to the events and, indeed, as the possible intended victim.”.The next day, an off-duty RCMP officer found the vehicle near Whitecourt and called in other officers..“Shortly after 12:15 p.m., officers attended the location and found the vehicle parked with what appeared to be one occupant asleep in the reclined driver’s seat. The officers approached the vehicle and a confrontation occurred, during which the vehicle was put into motion. One officer discharged a service pistol at the vehicle while a second officer discharged a carbine rifle. The vehicle left the rest stop, crossed the highway and entered a ditch a short distance away,” said ASIRT..The RCMP Tac-Team was then called in to clear the vehicle and found the 31-year-old man shot to death..On June 5, Stenger, a 12-year veteran, and Brown, a four-year- veteran, both RCMP officers with the Whitecourt RCMP detachment, were arrested and each charged with one count of criminal negligence causing death in relation to the death of Crawford, contrary to the provisions of the Criminal Code..The RCMP have suspended the two without pay..“There is a great responsibility placed in the hands of police officers. They are called upon to make split-second decisions in often rapidly-changing and dynamic situations that can have lasting impacts. Those decisions, unfortunately, can sometimes result in a tragic loss of life,” said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki in a statement at the time..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694..
