Medicine Hat police who shot suspect during arrest justified: ASIRT

The Medicine Hat Police Service recovered this shotgun from a suspect's apartment on July 27, 2024. (Supplied/ASIRT)

Members of the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS) who shot and wounded a suspect during a call for service last year will not face charges, the province’s police watchdog said Friday.

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The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team released the findings of its investigation into a police shooting on July 27, 2024.

ASIRT said the man was shot during a confrontation with police, who were responding to calls of a firearm being discharged inside an apartment building.

The report says the suspect was suffering from schizophrenia and didn’t believe the officers were police.

The suspect told officers he had a firearm, which ASIRT said proved the offender was “capable of causing death or grievous bodily harm” to the responding officers.

When the officers were at the door of the apartment, the suspect came out from behind a wall and pointed a firearm at the officers.

ASIRT said police told him to drop the weapon, but the suspect opened fire, causing the officers to return fire.

A brief shootout occurred, with the suspect firing at the officers multiple times and police returning fire, shooting at him at least 16 times.

“(The suspect) appeared to have been struck by some of these rounds. Two officers were struck by a combination of projectiles and shrapnel as the rounds discharged by (the suspect) struck the wall, entrance door frame and door, shattering the glass and surrounding frame,” ASIRT said.

The suspect retreated into his unit and, for the next two hours, police contained him inside.

Officers eventually deployed gas inside the apartment so officers could safely enter and arrest him.

The suspect was taken into custody, having suffered gunshot wounds to his stomach and right leg. He was taken to hospital and treated.

Inside the apartment, ASIRT said police found a shotgun.

Officials say given the circumstances of the incident, the officers were justified in their use of force.

“Were it not for proper tactics and some luck, the responding officers could have been seriously injured or killed,” ASIRT said.

“The responding MHPS officers, on the other hand, responded bravely to a serious call of a man discharging a firearm in a residence. They put themselves in serious danger in performing their duties.”