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The provincial police watchdog is investigating after a 24-year-old man was killed during an officer-involved shooting on the O’Chiese First Nation in central Alberta.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said RCMP officers were called to the community around 9:30 a.m. on April 3 on reports that a man was jumping on vehicles. Two officers responded in separate vehicles and originally could not find the man. The officers received reports that sent them in the direction of a nearby home.
Once they found the home, the officers located a 24-year-old man inside who was known to police and had outstanding warrants for his arrest, ASIRT said in a release Tuesday. The man slammed the door and officers began work to obtain a warrant to enter the home. A third officer arrived at this time.
ASIRT said a video recording shows the man exiting the home around 10:30 carrying an axe. A confrontation occurred that led to an officer firing his gun at the man several times. The man was struck and immediately fell to the ground. Officers perfromed first aid while they waited for EMS teams to arrive. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The axe was recovered from the scene and is now in ASIRT’s possession.
RCMP first announced the officer involved shooting on Saturday saying officers had responded to a home in the community on reports of a disturbance. They did not provide any details outside of the fact that there was a confrontation and a man had been declared dead while officers attempted to receive a warrant.
The 24-year-old man who was pronounced dead has not been identified by either police agency.
