A nearby neighbour claims to have heard two gun shots at this home along Maxwell Avenue in Red Deer Tuesday night. (rdnewsNOW/Jordan Davidson)

By Justin Goulet with files from rdnewsNOW

ASIRT investigating Red Deer RCMP officer-involved shooting

Sep 23, 2021 | 9:13 AM

RED DEER, AB – The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Red Deer.

On Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6:08 p.m., the Red Deer RCMP received a call for a break and enter at a city residence, in the area of Maxwell Avenue.

Officers responded to the scene and found a male suspect. Mounties say a confrontation occurred and an officer discharged their firearm, which injured the man.

Police on scene are said to have provided first aid to the suspect until emergency crews arrived. The suspect was taken to hospital for treatment to his non life-threatening injuries. He was later released from hospital and brought into the custody of the Red Deer RCMP.

No RCMP officers were injured during the confrontation. ASIRT is now leading the investigation to determine what led to a weapon being discharged.

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A nearby neighbor said they heard “two shots being fired” and the police were still on scene investigating when they went to bed at around 1 a.m.

The neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, said they’ve lived in the area for almost 15 years and referred to what happened Tuesday night as “mild” compared to events they have witnessed in the past. They said prior incidents included more officers on site and police helicopter circling the neighborhood. The neighbor believes the house in Tuesday’s incident is a rental, as they’ve seen multiple people move in and out over the years.

They said, “I’ve suffered it, and now I’m getting to the point that I’m going to do some investigating where I can get information and do something about it. There’s got to be some law that can protect me from that. The last 14 years have just been hell and it’s not all the one tenant. It just goes on and on and on and on.”

A statement from the Red Deer RCMP read, “the RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable.”

“This is why, as soon as we became aware of this incident, we immediately notified the Director of Law Enforcement and initiated our internal review process. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the actions of the police during this investigation.”

The statement continued, “independent of ASIRT’s investigation, the RCMP’s internal review process has been implemented to gather a full account of what took place during this incident.”

“RCMP training, policy, police response, and the duty status of the members involved will be subject to review. The RCMP is, of course, fully cooperating with ASIRT and will not be commenting further on this incident.”