Alberta's police watchdog has cleared an RCMP officer in the fatal shooting of a man armed with a knife in Cold Lake, concluding the officer acted reasonably and lawfully when confronted with an imminent threat.The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) released its findings Wednesday following an investigation into the Dec. 14, 2024 shooting, which occurred after police responded to reports of a knife attack at a bus shelter.According to ASIRT, RCMP officers were dispatched around 8:10 p.m. after a 911 caller reported two men fighting inside a bus shelter, with one allegedly armed with a knife. Officers located the suspect, referred to in the report as the affected person, near the bus stop.Police attempted to detain the man, but he became verbally aggressive and began walking away. When a third officer arrived and informed him he was under arrest for assault, the man pulled a knife from his waistband. All three officers drew their firearms and repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon.ASIRT found the man then focused on the subject officer and rapidly advanced toward him while holding the knife. The officer retreated, but the distance closed to between six and 10 feet before he fired three shots.After being shot, the man continued walking away while ignoring commands to drop the knife. Another officer then deployed a conducted energy weapon, causing him to fall to the ground. Officers secured him in handcuffs and moved the knife away before paramedics arrived.The man was transported to hospital but died approximately 20 minutes later. An autopsy determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest. The medical examiner found he had sustained three gunshot wounds, including a fatal wound that damaged his left lung. Toxicology testing detected alcohol and methamphetamine in his system, though neither substance was deemed a contributing factor in his death..Investigators recovered a knife with an approximately five-inch serrated blade from beneath the rear bumper of the officer's police vehicle.Civilian witnesses told investigators the man had attacked another individual at the bus shelter before police arrived. One witness said the suspect attempted to stab him in the ribs and neck without provocation. Other witnesses described the man as appearing intoxicated or "high" before producing a knife during the altercation.ASIRT reviewed multiple sources of evidence, including police vehicle video, surveillance footage from a nearby restaurant, witness statements, police interviews and forensic evidence. The videos showed the suspect advancing toward the officer before the shots were fired.The watchdog acknowledged that two of the bullets entered through the man's back, indicating he had begun turning away when the second and third shots were fired. However, ASIRT concluded the entire shooting unfolded within approximately three seconds and that it would be unrealistic to expect the officer to perceive and react to the man's changing body position quickly enough to stop firing sooner."The SO's use of force was proportionate, necessary, and reasonable," Acting Executive Director Matthew Block wrote in the report. "As a result, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed."ASIRT concluded the officer acted in lawful self-defence and that the protections available under sections 25 and 34 of the Criminal Code would apply.
