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Man killed by police in south Edmonton had imitation Glock air pistol, police watchdog says

Edmonton police were called to the parking lot of a hotel located near Calgary Trail and 53rd Avenue.  (Dave Bajer/CBC News - image credit)
Edmonton police were called to the parking lot of a hotel located near Calgary Trail and 53rd Avenue. (Dave Bajer/CBC News - image credit)

Alberta's police watchdog says a man who was shot and killed by police in a Tuesday evening confrontation was carrying an imitation Glock air pistol and running away from police.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating the circumstance in which Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers discharged their service firearms, resulting in the death of a 43-year-old man Tuesday in the area of 56th Avenue and Gateway Boulevard.

Police responded to a call from a south Edmonton hotel that there was a man with a gun slashing and shooting at tires in the parking lot, ASIRT said in a news release Friday.

Hotel staff told police on scene the man had left the parking lot on foot and was heading east across Gateway Boulevard.

Officers found a man matching the initial description walking southbound in the middle lanes of Gateway Boulevard toward responding tactical vehicles.

Video captured from a police helicopter show that as some of the tactical officers exited their vehicles, the suspect turned and ran northbound, away from police.

ASIRT said police pursued the man who was observed carrying a dark object in his hand. Officers shot the man.

"The man was struck and fell to the ground, having sustained critical injuries," ASIRT said.

The man was given emergency medical care but died at the scene, ASIRT said.

Submitted by ASIRT
Submitted by ASIRT

The object the man was carrying was recovered and discovered to be an imitation Glock air pistol. A magazine for the air pistol was recovered from the hotel parking lot.

ASIRT's investigation will focus on what happened at the time the officers fired their guns.

No additional information will be released until any and all available witnesses have been interviewed, so as not to compromise this evidence, ASIRT said.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact ASIRT.