On Feb. 11, shortly after 2 p.m., RCMP officers went to a home in Okotoks after a man called police to report his parents had been abducted and were in danger.
When officers arrived, they found the man standing on the roof of the house and a ladder positioned against the porch roof. He refused to come down.
Police spoke with his wife while other RCMP officers checked on his parents and confirmed they were safe.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m., officers requested assistance from the Rural Police and Crisis Team (RPACT). An officer and a registered nurse from RPACT arrived minutes later.
Police were advised the man had a shovel and a baseball bat with him on the roof. Body-worn camera footage later confirmed the man was holding a knife.
At about 2:53 p.m., the RPACT officer told the man he was being apprehended under the Mental Health Act. About one minute later, the man pushed the ladder away, preventing officers from accessing the roof.
Okotoks Fire and Rescue arrived to assist, and at about 3:21 p.m., they had placed ladders at the front and rear of the residence. At the front of the house, the RPACT officer climbed to the roof.
An altercation occurred on the roof in which the RPACT officer deployed a conducted energy weapon (CEW) and also fired a gun multiple times, striking the man once in the side of his body.
At about 3:25 p.m., the man surrendered a knife. Shortly after, his mother, who had also climbed onto the roof, obtained two additional knives from him and threw them to the ground.
After police told the man he was under arrest for possession of a weapon, officers continued negotiations with him for about one hour. The man eventually climbed down from the roof and police took him into custody.
Officers provided first aid until Emergency Medical Services arrived and took over medical care.
The Police Review Commission has directed ASIRT to investigate the event as a Level 1 matter, which the Police Act defines as a case involving serious injury, death, or serious or sensitive allegations relating to the actions of an officer.
Information released at this stage is based on the initial information available to investigators. The investigation is ongoing, and ASIRT has no further information to release at this time.
This release is distributed by the Government of Alberta on behalf of the Police Review Commission.