The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has concluded that the Cold Lake RCMP officer involved in a fatal motor vehicle collision on Aug. 6, 2016 acted reasonably.
The incident resulted in the death of a 36-year-old man and injuries to three others.
On Aug. 6, 2016, at around 5:45 p.m., two witnesses observed a physical altercation between a pair of men outside of a Cold Lake apartment building.
One of the witnesses called 911 and reported one of the men drove out of the parking lot in a Jeep and appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol after colliding with the caller's vehicle.
The caller followed the suspect to a nearby convenience store.
Local RCMP were kept in contact with the caller who revealed the location of the suspect.
The officer responding overtook the caller's vehicle in an unmarked RCMP SUV, and attempted to stop the suspect driver and his Jeep using lights and sirens.
The driver of the Jeep initially pulled the vehicle to the side of the road, appearing to stop, but instead, turned east on 16 Ave., accelerating at high speeds.
Dispatch was notified and the officer advised of a pursuit.
The driver continued to flee at a high rate of speed and was driving in a dangerous manner. It was seen passing vehicles and driving through a four-way stop without stopping.
The Jeep collided with a pick-up truck containing a family of three.
Emergency Medical Services treated the driver of the Jeep at the scene, before transferring him to the hospital.
A 43-year-old woman was also hospitalized and suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
A 55-year-old man, who had been driving the truck, and their three-year-old daughter received minor injuries as a result of the collision.
The suspect's cause of death was determined to be blunt cranial trauma, with alcohol and intoxication as a contributing factor.
Toxicology reports determined his blood alcohol level was 220-milligrams of alcohol per 100-millilitres of blood.
ASIRT investigated the incident and have determined that the officer was, at all times, lawfully places and in the lawful execution of his duty. As a result, the RCMP officer wasn't charged under the Criminal Code.
