Alberta RCMP officer involved in shooting in Smoky Lake

On August 8, 2022, at 7:27 am, St. Paul RCMP were making efforts to apprehend two individuals who were suspects in several ongoing police investigations. The two suspects, a man and a woman, were believed to be in Saddle Lake Cree Nation. St. Paul RCMP located the two suspects in the area of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, and an interaction occurred, ultimately leading to a confrontation between police and the suspects that resulted in officers discharging their service weapons. During this incident, part of highway 28 near Smoky Lake Centex was closed off, and local Crime Watch members were summoned to warn the population to stay indoors on lockdown. As a result of the confrontation, one suspect is deceased, and the second suspect has been transported to the hospital in critical condition. No RCMP officers have reported physical injuries as a result of this incident. A substantial number of resources were deployed to a large geographical area to provide support and manage risk to the public throughout this investigation. St. Paul RCMP continue their original investigations, and the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has taken over the investigation into the circumstances of the officers involved in the shooting. The Alberta 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 the RCMP became aware of this incident, the Director of Law Enforcement was immediately notified to initiate an internal review process. Independent of ASIRT’s investigation, the Alberta RCMP’s internal review process has been implemented to gather a complete 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 Alberta RCMP is, of course, fully cooperating with ASIRT and will not comment further on this incident. All media inquiries about this incident should now be directed to ASIRT at 780-641-9099. Source: RCMP media release and a local Smoky Lake Crime Watch source.