The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating after Calgary police opened fire on a suspect at a strip mall in the Montgomery area on Tuesday afternoon.
Police tracked a stolen Dodge pickup truck to the parking lot of the plaza in the 5000 block of 16 Avenue N.W. at about 3:30 p.m.
The driver pulled into the lot, parked the truck and entered a nearby business.
Police tried to box in the vehicle but the man was able to get back inside. He put the truck in motion and then rammed two police cruisers. They tried to contain the man and the truck and two officers opened fire.
Police at the scene removed the 49-year old man from the truck and provided emergency medical treatment until EMS arrived.
He was taken to hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries.
Family members have identified the man as Terrence Wienmeyer and, according to court documents, he was known to police.
Wienmeyer has a long list of drug and theft related offences that date back to 2003 and he was in court earlier this month charged with two counts of possession of property over $5000.
A woman who was a passenger in the truck was uninjured and was taken into custody.
This is the 11th incident that ASIRT has been called in to investigate this year and the ninth in the city.
“We don’t know what exactly happened until our investigation is complete,” said Susan D. Hughson, Q.C., Executive Director of ASIRT. “At the end of the day, public confidence in policing and in ASIRT is going to be fostered by us being able to do that. For us being able to come to you and say this is what we know happened. This is the evidence that we collected in this case so yeah, there’s going to be delays.”
In 2015, there were just three police shootings in Calgary.
Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed and/or recorded the incident to contact ASIRT investigators at 403-592-4306.
