Alberta's police watchdog has cleared a Calgary police officer in a 2023 shooting that left a man with serious arm injuries after he swung a sledgehammer at officers outside a southeast Calgary residence.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) released its report Thursday, detailing the July 2023 incident that began when police were called to a residence for reports of a break and enter.
According to the investigation, a tenant living upstairs had broken into the basement suite and began threatening the basement tenant with a sledgehammer. The basement tenant fled outside, and when Calgary police arrived on scene, the suspect was using the sledgehammer to smash the victim's vehicle.
Officers Deployed Less-Lethal Options First
The responding officer ordered the man to stop, but he was not co-operative and continued attacking the vehicle, the report states.
Body-worn camera footage reviewed by ASIRT showed a second officer deployed a conducted energy weapon (Taser) four times and used pepper spray, but neither method was effective in getting the man to drop the weapon.
"The [man] then turned towards the officers, while gripping the sledgehammer with both hands, and blindly swung it in their direction," the ASIRT report details. "The [responding officer] fired a single shot from his service pistol as the [man] was mid-swing. The [man] fell to the ground and the sledgehammer flew under a nearby vehicle."
Officers were able to take the man into custody without further incident once he was on the ground.
Suspect Suffered Serious Injuries
The man sustained a gunshot wound to his arm that caused several fractures to his hand, requiring surgical repair, according to ASIRT.
During the investigation, the man told ASIRT he was "a diagnosed schizophrenic and that he had not slept for approximately 10 days prior to this incident."
The report's findings paint a complex picture of the confrontation. ASIRT concluded the man "presented as a threat of grievous bodily harm simply by virtue of his continued aggressive behaviour with the weapon."
"Lesser use of force options ... were exhausted and had been ineffective in having him relinquish the sledgehammer," the report added.
Conflicting Findings Lead to No Charges
However, the report also noted the man "did not demonstrate any physical aggression or make any threats towards the officers" except for the final swing of the sledgehammer, which he did "blindly, on account of the effects of the pepper spray, while also struggling to maintain his balance."
The officers were standing several feet beyond the reach of the weapon at the time of the shooting, the report said.
The officer involved in the shooting declined to be interviewed for the investigation.
ASIRT found the threat the man presented "objectively waned" and concluded there were "reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed" by the officer.
Despite this finding, after consultation with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, ASIRT chose not to lay charges against the officer.
ASIRT is a provincial agency responsible for investigating serious allegations of police misconduct and incidents where death or serious injury may have been caused by police.
This story is based on reporting from CBC Calgary.