Alberta's police watchdog has cleared an Edmonton police officer who used a baton launcher to shoot a man in the groin while arresting him for threatening the chief of police. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) released a brief report Wednesday explaining its decision not to pursue charges against the officer who fired the shots in 2024.
Incident Details
According to the one-and-a-half page report, the man who police shot made threatening calls to the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) on Aug. 19-20, 2024. The man, who is not identified, said he made the threats because he was “frustrated with comments that the chief made, and because those comments had intensified his mental health issues related to past interactions with police,” ASIRT said. EPS’s chief at the time was Dale McFee.
ASIRT said because of the threats to police, the EPS tactical team became involved and made a plan to arrest the man. When he parked outside a mall Aug. 20, 2024, at least seven officers approached and told him he was under arrest. They ordered him to the ground.
The man said he decided to ignore the officers’ instructions and fight back “out of fear of being assaulted, and due to his mental health issues,” ASIRT said. He yelled at the officers to shoot him.
Use of Force
One of the officers, who is not named, fired three rounds from a launcher that shoots polymer batons. The batons hit the man on the upper right thigh — leaving a two inch cut — as well as his left thigh and right buttock. Three officers then fired their Tasers. The officers moved in to arrest the man when he fell to the ground.
Once on the ground, the man continued to shout “kill me” at the officers. A civilian “associate” of the man arrived on scene a short time later and took video of the aftermath.
In an interview with ASIRT, the man agreed with the officers’ version of events, but maintained the officer who shot him with the baton targeted his groin on purpose.
ASIRT Findings
ASIRT executive director Matthew Block found no evidence for the claim. “While it would have been excessive force to target the (man’s) groin with the baton launcher, there is no evidence that the (officer) did so,” Block wrote.
Block said it was reasonable for the tactical team to be involved given the threats the man made against police. The man also admitted he did not comply with their directions, Block added. “The officers proceeded quickly to uses of force, but only to low-end uses of force that are unlikely to cause serious injury. Their uses of force were authorized by law, reasonable, and not excessive,” he wrote. “There are not reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed by the (officer).”
The ASIRT report does not say whether the man was ever charged with making threats against McFee.
