The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has cleared four RCMP officers who fatally shot a Grande Prairie man on July 19, 2025, after he led them on a chase, ignored commands, and pointed a replica rifle at them. An ASIRT report released on Wednesday detailed the events and analysis based on video recordings and officer interviews.
Incident Timeline
On July 18, 2025, at 10:35 p.m., a community police officer (CPO) observed a driver make a left turn on a red light and drive erratically at high speeds. Less than 30 minutes later, a second CPO spotted the same vehicle parked on a residential lawn at approximately 11 p.m. The driver maneuvered around them and then drove past the Grande Prairie RCMP detachment three times.
During the last pass, the driver accelerated, slowed, stopped, reversed, and idled. When a marked police vehicle pulled alongside, the man accelerated away. Police followed him to a dead-end range road, where he got stuck in mud.
Confrontation and Shooting
The man exited his vehicle with hands raised, and officers yelled that he was under arrest. Two officers repeated commands to keep his hands up and walk toward them. Instead, the man reached into his vehicle and pulled out what appeared to be an assault-type rifle. An officer broadcasted “gun, gun, gun” over the radio.
“Police subsequently issued verbal commands directing the AP to put his hands up; these commands were not complied with,” the report states. “The [affected person] then moved his arms – along with the firearm – to his sides before again bringing the weapon forward in the direction of officers.”
At 12:01 a.m., the man appeared to point the firearm at police, and officers fired their weapons. One officer yelled during the initial volley, leading another to think he had been shot. “This perception heightened his sense of urgency and contributed to his continued use of force. [The officer] subsequently learned that [their colleague] had not been shot but had instead sustained an injury to his eardrum as a result of the gunfire,” the report says.
Aftermath
Using a drone, police found the man lying near his vehicle with a replica rifle. Despite resuscitation attempts, ambulance workers pronounced him deceased. An autopsy report has yet to be released.
