The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) found Athabasca RCMP used reasonable force after shooting a man carrying a knife March 2, 2018, according to a press release.
The release states that ASIRT was directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the injuries sustained by a 27-year-old man during his arrest by members of the Athabasca RCMP. The release states the man’s blood alcohol level was 262 mg/dL, suggesting he was grossly impaired at the time of the event.
Joshua Raymond Watson was shot by police March 2, 2018 at the Spruceland Apartments in Athabasca.
Watson pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and breaking and entering in Athabasca Provincial Court Aug. 13.
Appearing in court via closed-circuit television, he was released on a recognizance with a $1,000, no-cash bail.
Watson’s sentencing was adjourned until Jan. 14, 2019, with a Gladue report ordered in the case.
According to a court search, on March 11, 2019, Watson was sentenced to 176 days in prison for assault with a weapon and breaking and entering a place that was not a dwelling house. He was credited with having spent nine months in prison, and given 24 months probation after release, as well as a 10-year firearm prohibition.
In August 2018, ASIRT legal counsel Greg Gudelot said the investigation was completed July 4, 2018 and was given to ASIRT’s executive director for review.
“There is a backlog at the review stage of ASIRT investigations,” Gudelot said. “That backlog is reducing and we’re clearing it.”
There were other files set to be reviewed before the Athabasca case, Gudelot said at that time.
“The length on the review stage is nothing about the file, it’s just the overall review process,” he said.
Athabasca RCMP Cpl. Dale Bereza (right) puts an arm around a constable at the scene March 2, 2018.
The press release
The press release from the province reads as follows:
On March 2, 2018, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding injuries sustained by a 27-year-old man during his arrest by members of the Athabasca RCMP that same date.
At approximately 10:17 a.m. on March 2, 2018, the RCMP Northern Alberta Operational Communications Centre (NAOCC) received a 911 hang-up call from a residence at an apartment building in Athabasca, where yelling could be heard in the background. As the call went to voicemail when operators called back, a call for dispatch was entered by NAOCC. A second 911 call was received a minute later from the same number, urgently requesting police assistance with a tenant who had gone “totally ballistic”, smashed things and broken the door of the caller’s suite, and was bleeding. The caller indicated that she was concerned as the tenant had been drinking and had a young child in his care.
Two RCMP officers arrived on scene in two separate vehicles in response to the dispatch for a suspected domestic incident. A subsequent 911 call was received from the same caller while they were on route, asking when police would arrive as the tenant had stated, “somebody’s going to die today.” When the caller put the phone down, the line was left open and audio of the initial arrival of the RCMP officers was captured. Both officers were in full uniform and readily identifiable as police, neither equipped with a Conductive Energy Weapon. Upon arrival, the officers observed damage to the wall of the apartment building, blood on the wall and floor of the building, and damage to the door of the caller’s suite.
While the female resident of the damaged suite was explaining what had happened, the sound of loud footsteps coming down the apartment stairs drew the officers’ attention. A man emerged from the stairwell doorway, kicked the hallway wall, and got his foot stuck in the drywall. One of the officers called out to attract the man’s attention while he was freeing his foot. At that time, both officers noticed that the man was holding a large kitchen knife, which was subsequently recovered from the scene. Both officers repeatedly ordered the man to drop the knife. These commands were recorded on the open-line 911 audio and confirmed by a statement later provided by the man, who indicated he heard the commands but did not comply. At this point, the man was approximately nine to 10 feet from both officers, who had drawn their service pistols. The man raised the blade of the knife to his own neck, where he held it for several seconds. He then lowered the knife to his side, with the blade pointed forward, appearing aggressive and angry. As the man took a step forward towards one of the officers, that officer fired a single round from her pistol, striking him in the abdomen.
The man immediately dropped the knife, grabbed himself and fell backwards. Despite the injury, the man remained angry and non-compliant, kicking and spinning on the floor as the officers attempted to handcuff him and place pressure on the gunshot wound. Once he was handcuffed, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was requested. The man was able to walk on his own to meet the ambulance and was transported to hospital.
After his initial assessment, the man was transferred to a different hospital in Edmonton by STARS Air Ambulance. It was determined that the injury did not require surgery as the bullet had passed through the man without causing any intra-abdominal or spinal cord injury. The man’s blood alcohol level, recorded in the Edmonton hospital approximately four hours after his arrest, was 262 mg%, suggesting that he was grossly impaired by alcohol at the time of the incident.
Under S. 25 of the Criminal Code, police officers are authorized to use as much force as is reasonably necessary to carry out their lawful duties. Additionally, under S. 34, any person, including a police officer, is entitled to the use of reasonable force in defence of themselves or another. Both officers were on duty, readily identifiable as a police and responding to a series of 911 calls, and accordingly, it is clear that during the incident the subject officer was acting in the lawful execution of her duty. The officer was lawfully entitled to act in defence of herself and the other parties as she was faced with an armed, aggressive, and non-compliant subject, located in close proximity, not only to the officer herself, but also to the other officer and several civilians.
Factors in assessing the reasonableness of force used can include the use or threatened use of a weapon, the imminence of the threat, other options available, and the nature of the force or threat of force itself. As outlined above, during this incident the man was armed with a large knife, which he failed to drop despite repeated requests. The availability of other options was significantly limited due to the presence of civilians and the overall proximity of the parties, and in these circumstances, the man’s knife can reasonably be viewed as presenting a risk of death or grievous bodily harm both to the officer and the others present.
While it is unfortunate that the man sustained an injury during the arrest, his actions created a reasonable apprehension for the officer that her life and the lives of those under her protection were endangered, and the force that she used to address that danger was therefore reasonable. During this incident, she was lawfully placed, and the force she employed was reasonable in the circumstances. Accordingly, there are no grounds to believe that an offence was committed by any police officer, and no charges will be laid.
ASIRT’s mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person.
