LAKELAND - A man threatening to shoot at police who were called to a rural residence in Smoky Lake County on Monday morning was arrested after a tense two-hour standoff with officers.
Police say they got a call early on the morning of Feb. 14 saying a man inside a rural residence on Highway 28 was "assaultive" and had been discharging a firearm. Five people were reported to have been in the house at the time. Police say two of them had been assaulted.
Large Lakeland police response
The police response saw officers from the St. Paul, Lac La Biche and Bonnyville RCMP detachments joining Smoky Lake officers along with police from the Redwater RCMP Integrated Traffic Unit and the Eastern RCMP Crime Reduction Unit. The RCMP Police Dog Services, the RCMP's Emergency Response Team and Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers were also called to the scene.
Police say that as arriving officers began to set up a perimeter around the residence, a man came out of the house and pointed a firearm toward the police members before going back inside. According to police, the man came out of the home again a short time later, this time carrying a knife. Police attempted to calm the man, commanding him to drop the knife and surrender, but he again turned and walked back toward the house where the other occupants remained.
"Police feared for the safety of those inside the home and the officers on scene as the male continued brandishing his knife," said Corporal Shawn Morgan, media relations officer with the Eastern Alberta RCMP.
As the man walked to the house, officers drove a police vehicle to intercept him. The manoeuvre caused the man to fall to the ground, say police, but he still managed to throw the knife toward officers as they brought him under control. The man was eventually arrested.
Police say the suspect was taken to hospital for treatment of a minor injury, prior to being transported to the Smoky Lake RCMP detachment.
While no police were seriously injured in the arrest, one officer did have minor injuries assessed at the Smoky Lake hospital before returning to duty. Two of the occupants in the house had been assaulted, said Morgan, but didn't give specifics on their injuries.
A firearm, ammunition and two knives were seized at the time of the arrest.
Morgan said no other homes were in the immediate area of the residence, and no one was harmed as a result of the discharge of the firearm.
Court this week
Richard Dale Halfe, 37, of Smoky Lake, has been charged with 21 offences including recklessly discharging a firearm, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and assault while choking/strangling victim. He is also charged with two counts each of pointing a firearm, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, and uttering threats
Halfe remains in custody following adjournment of a judicial hearing for his release. Halfe is scheduled to appear in Fort Saskatchewan Provincial Court on Feb. 17.
Smoky Lake and Eastern Alberta District RCMP continue to investigate the incident.
As this matter is before the court, Morgan says that no further information can be released.
