An ASIRT investigation has determined that the officer who shot a man during an incident in the downtown in November 2015 was justified in his actions.
Emergency crews were called to Dermot Baldwin Way S.E. at about 4:40 p.m. on November 3 after reports of a hit and run involving a pedestrian and an SUV.
Police were informed prior to arriving at the scene that a similar vehicle was involved in other criminal activities earlier in the day. They also learned that the SUV was stolen and that the occupants had exited it, wielding a baseball bat and what looked like a handgun.
The SUV fled the scene east on 5th Avenue S.E., jumped the curb, and drove down a pedestrian walkway. The vehicle then headed towards a police van and four officers who were standing outside the vehicle.
One of the officer’s saw the SUV coming, alerted the others, and then jumped into the van to avoid getting sideswiped by the stolen vehicle.
Another officer also avoided being hit by the SUV and then fired two shots into the front windshield of the vehicle.
The SUV continued on and turned onto the sidewalk causing three pedestrian to scatter to avoid being run over. The vehicle then headed down 4th Avenue in the wrong direction before turning onto Riverfront Avenue where it hit a parked vehicle.
The vehicle kept going and eventually came to a stop on Riverfront Avenue, west of Macleod Trail S.E..
The two occupants in the SUV were taken into custody and the driver was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper chest. He has since recovered from the injury.
Einar James Bearhat, 20, was charged with attempted murder, assault with a weapon and possession of stolen property following the incident and a woman who was also arrested at the scene was released.
An investigation was launched by ASIRT into the incident, which is standard procedure in any police shooting.
On Thursday, ASIRT released the results of the investigation and confirmed that there were no reasonable grounds or reasonable suspicion to believe the officer committed any criminal offences.
ASIRT officials say the evidence shows it was clear that the conduct of the driver posed a real risk of harm and possible death to police and pedestrians in the area and that the actions of the officer were justified.
