Alberta’s police watchdog — the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) — has provided an update on its investigation into the death of a 15-year-old who was killed by police late last week in Wetaskiwin.
ASIRT says around 12:28 a.m. on Aug. 30, RCMP responded to a report that a 15-year-old was being followed by people who wanted to kill him.
At 12:34 a.m., an officer reportedly found the teen near 56 Street and 37A Avenue, before an altercation took place and the teen was fatally shot.
New details from the investigation have been released, which were captured by the officer’s in-car video system. The system recorded video and audio of the interaction between the teen and the officer prior to the fatal incident.
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According to ASIRT, the car’s recording shows the teen and officer speaking about the situation and then shows the teen handing a machete and a knife to the officer.
Additionally, the teen provided more information to the officer, at which point it was believed the teen was at risk. Following this, the officer attempted to apprehend the teen and search him and his backpack.
According to the video, the teen initially cooperated, but then he fled on foot, and ran a short distance from the officer.
The Mountie followed the teen in his cruiser and was joined by other officers a short time later, before finding the teen in a nearby field.
Surveillance video shows the officers approach the teen before exiting their vehicles, at which point an altercation took place and two officers fired their service weapons, hitting the teen.
ASIRT notes this was captured on the car surveillance of the first responding officer’s vehicle, as well as the vehicles of the other responding officers.
The officers then tried to provide medical care for the teen, and called paramedics. He was taken to hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
ASIRT says their investigation is ongoing, and if anyone has any information, contact investigators at 780-644-1483.