Alberta probes police use of force after two men die, two wounded during altercations with RCMP

Lance Cutarm

Days after a deadly shooting in Toronto sparked a debate over police use of force, Alberta’s police watchdog is looking into three separate incidents that saw officers use their firearms or a Taser.

The latest incident in Alberta happened Saturday night when police say an officer with the Wetaskiwin RCMP detachment pulled over a suspected impaired driver near Ma Me O Beach, south of Edmonton.

RCMP say there was an altercation and the officer shot two men who were in the car.

A 30-year-old man from Pigeon Lake, Alta., died and a 41-year-old man, also from Pigeon Lake, was transported to hospital in Edmonton.

On Friday, RCMP used a Taser on a 27-year-old man during an arrest in Leduc, Alta. The man died Sunday morning.

On Thursday, R-C-M-P in Grande Cache shot and wounded a man who has since been identified by family as Curtis Hallock, a regular character on the reality TV show “Mantracker.”

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which reviews incidents involving police that result in death or serious injury, is conducting independent investigations into all three incidents.  (more...)

Alberta probes police use of force after two men die, two wounded during altercations with RCMP