On Aug. 21, at about 5 p.m., the woman was a passenger in a vehicle operated by her adult son when they were pulled over by a member of the Strathmore RCMP within the town of Strathmore. The vehicle pulled over into a parking lot near the KFC fast food restaurant located on Ridge Road. During the course of the traffic stop, additional RCMP officers arrived on scene. The driver was arrested, taken into custody, and charged with uttering threats, obstruction of a peace officer and resisting arrest. He was released the next day.
On Aug. 22, the woman posted a video on social media alleging that there had been no reason for the traffic stop and that it was retaliation for a complaint made to the RCMP on an earlier date. The video alleges that her son had been unnecessarily and repeatedly subjected to the use of a conducted energy weapon, commonly referred to as a taser, and that both had been subjected to unnecessary uses of force, resulting in injury. The woman shared the video and complained about the incident to public officials.
ASIRT is asking any members of the public who may have witnessed the events on Aug. 21, 2020, or who may have available video of the incident, to please contact investigators at 403-592-4306.
As the investigation is at its outset, no further information will be released publicly.
ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
This release is distributed by the Government of Alberta on behalf of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.