The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has cleared two Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers who shot and killed a man sitting in a lawn chair who pointed a shotgun at them.On September 18, 2020, officers responded to multiple reports of a man armed with a firearm in north Edmonton, said an ASIRT report released Thursday.Callers reported that a male, identified as the affected person (AP), was in a backyard with a loaded firearm and later seen near the Eastglen Motor Inn with a sawed-off shotgun wrapped in clothing.EPS officers first attended the residential address mentioned in the initial call. Subject officers (SO#1 and SO#2) approached the backyard via the back alley, where they encountered AP seated in a lawn chair holding a shotgun across his lap. The officers commanded AP to drop the gun and show his hands, but AP raised the firearm towards them. In response, both officers discharged their weapons, fatally striking AP. Despite immediate calls for emergency medical services, AP was declared deceased at the scene..Civilian witnesses provided various accounts that painted a troubling picture of AP's state of mind leading up to the incident. One witness, AP's sister (CW1), reported that AP had been self-medicating with alcohol following his wife's suicide a month earlier. On the day of the incident, AP made unusual statements to CW1, indicating he was giving away his car and saying, "It's time to go play," while holding a firearm.Another witness (CW2), a cousin of AP, stated that AP had been acting erratically and mentioned wanting to "go home," possibly implying a desire to die or return to jail.Witness accounts from neighbors (CW3, CW4, CW5, CW6, CW7, and CW8) corroborated the sequence of events leading up to the shooting. Several neighbors heard police commands to "Get down!" and "Put the gun down!" followed by multiple gunshots. None of the witnesses reported seeing the exact moment of the shooting but confirmed hearing the gunfire and observing the police presence.The investigation concluded that there were no grounds to believe an offence was committed by the officers. The detailed investigation, including statements from civilian witnesses, police reports, and scene evidence, supported the conclusion that the officers acted in self-defence and in the defense of others.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has cleared two Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers who shot and killed a man sitting in a lawn chair who pointed a shotgun at them.On September 18, 2020, officers responded to multiple reports of a man armed with a firearm in north Edmonton, said an ASIRT report released Thursday.Callers reported that a male, identified as the affected person (AP), was in a backyard with a loaded firearm and later seen near the Eastglen Motor Inn with a sawed-off shotgun wrapped in clothing.EPS officers first attended the residential address mentioned in the initial call. Subject officers (SO#1 and SO#2) approached the backyard via the back alley, where they encountered AP seated in a lawn chair holding a shotgun across his lap. The officers commanded AP to drop the gun and show his hands, but AP raised the firearm towards them. In response, both officers discharged their weapons, fatally striking AP. Despite immediate calls for emergency medical services, AP was declared deceased at the scene..Civilian witnesses provided various accounts that painted a troubling picture of AP's state of mind leading up to the incident. One witness, AP's sister (CW1), reported that AP had been self-medicating with alcohol following his wife's suicide a month earlier. On the day of the incident, AP made unusual statements to CW1, indicating he was giving away his car and saying, "It's time to go play," while holding a firearm.Another witness (CW2), a cousin of AP, stated that AP had been acting erratically and mentioned wanting to "go home," possibly implying a desire to die or return to jail.Witness accounts from neighbors (CW3, CW4, CW5, CW6, CW7, and CW8) corroborated the sequence of events leading up to the shooting. Several neighbors heard police commands to "Get down!" and "Put the gun down!" followed by multiple gunshots. None of the witnesses reported seeing the exact moment of the shooting but confirmed hearing the gunfire and observing the police presence.The investigation concluded that there were no grounds to believe an offence was committed by the officers. The detailed investigation, including statements from civilian witnesses, police reports, and scene evidence, supported the conclusion that the officers acted in self-defence and in the defense of others.
