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Police acted reasonably in the fatal shootings of two suspects, one in Calgary and another in Cochrane, according to a ruling by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the agency that investigates police conduct.
Both instances occurred in 2019 with the Calgary shooting raising concerns of excessive force among the family of a woman shot dead by a police officer.
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The incident involving Calgary police began in the early morning of June 26 when an officer was responding to reports of a suspicious woman entering and exiting yards and carrying items in the 2000 block of 35th Street S.E.
When the female officer approached the woman in her car, the suspect doused the CPS member in pepper spray and fled down an alley.
When the officer caught up with the woman, later identified as Robin Fiddler, the two wrestled, with the officer warning the suspect not to take her gun — an order overheard by a witness.
“(Fiddler) lunged forward towards (the officer), who then discharged her firearm twice,” states the ASIRT decision.
“(Fiddler) fell to the ground. Other officers began to arrive to assist the officer, and first aid was provided by officers until EMS arrived. (Fiddler) was transported to hospital where she was declared deceased.”
An autopsy indicated Fiddler had methamphetamine in her system.
ASIRT noted the officer involved invoked her right not to be interviewed about the incident, adding her body-worn camera hadn’t been turned on at the scene.
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Shortly after the shooting, Fiddler’s family members insisted the officer could have used a taser to stop the Indigenous woman, and called for justice.
But ASIRT noted a witness watching the struggle in the alley said it appeared Fiddler was trying to take the officer’s handgun and lunged at her after she’d been pushed away.
And it concluded the officer had acted properly.
“While the death of (Fiddler) is unfortunate, the force used by the subject officer was necessary and reasonable in all the circumstances,” ASIRT stated.
In the second case, RCMP were called to a home on West Gissing Road in northwest Cochrane on Dec. 6, 2019, for a complaint of a man uttering threats, committing assault and violating a firearms prohibition.
The man, who neighbours identified as Stewart Robb, refused RCMP demands he leave the home and surrender but he told a police negotiator he wouldn’t be taken alive, states the ASIRT report.
Police believed Robb was in an attached garage, which they used a tactical armoured vehicle (TAV) to approach. As the TAV was used to remove the garage door, eight gunshots were heard from within the garage.
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“Later inspection by investigators showed six bullet holes in the garage directly across from (Robb’s) garage … at least one shot hit the TAV,” stated the report.
When Robb was seen inside the house RCMP demanded he drop his firearm and then fired gas into the house.
When the man left the home with his dogs, he refused more orders to drop the fully-loaded .22-cal. Ruger he was carrying, said ASIRT.
“(He) looked at officers but did not drop the gun. He continued to walk toward a motorhome parked in front of the residence,” said the report.
It was then that Robb was struck by one round fired by an RCMP officer which struck his right arm and entered his chest.
“(That officer) feared (Robb) would take cover behind the motorhome and a gun fight would occur,” said ASIRT, quoting the officer involved.
“He feared that the public would be put at risk since the backdrop would be nearby houses.”
Given the threat posed by Robb to police and nearby residents, ASIRT agreed, concluding no offence was committed by the officer.
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
X: @BillKaufmannjrn
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