Police in northwestern Alberta fatally shot a man Friday night after he had been driving erratically and pulled a gun on the officers, RCMP say.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the province’s main police oversight agency, is investigating the shooting, RCMP said in a news release Saturday. CBC News has contacted ASIRT for independent confirmation.
Shortly before midnight Friday, officers on patrol spotted an erratic driver on a rural road outside Grande Prairie, Alta., police said.
The driver fled in the vehicle after police tried to pull him over. An RCMP spokesperson told CBC News that the officers monitored the vehicle until it eventually got stuck in mud, at which point they engaged with the driver.
Police said he took a gun out at some point during that interaction, but the spokesperson couldn’t give specifics around how or when.
At least one officer fired their gun at him, police said.
A STARS ambulance spokesperson confirmed it was dispatched to the area, but was told to stand down before take-off.
Police said EMS declared the man dead when they arrived on scene. No officers were injured.
RCMP said it notified ASIRT, which investigates incidents were police may have caused serious injury or death, as well as “serious and sensitive” allegations of police misconduct.
RCMP has also initiated its own internal review process, its release said. Training, policy, police response and the members’ duty status will be reviewed to get a full account of what happened.
