Calgary officer cleared in shooting of Monterey Park home invasion suspect

A Calgary police investigation is seen in a stock photo from 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

A Calgary officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting of a home invasion suspect in the community of Monterey Park in 2019.

The incident unfolded on Oct. 10, as police responded to reports that two men, one who was armed, were attempting to kick down the front door of a home on Laguna Close N.E.

Alberta's independent police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), released a report on the shooting on Thursday.

It says police responded to the scene, at which time staff in the HAWCS helicopter witnessed two people run from the home and get into a VW Jetta.

Officers on the ground located the Jetta and began pursuing it in an unmarked cruiser.

"Very shortly after beginning following the Jetta, an individual leaned out of the passenger side of it and fired three shots at (police)," ASIRT said in its report.

The Jetta continued travelling, eventually nearing a marked police van parked at the intersection of Catalina Boulevard and Laguna Close.

As the Jetta neared the van, an officer got out of it.

When the Jetta passed by the officer, he fired six shots at it in rapid succession.

The Jetta continued on, with officers tracking it to a different location where it was abandoned.

Three people ran from the Jetta, two of which were arrested and one of which evaded police.

When arrested, one of the suspects had a large graze wound from a bullet running from the back left side of his head to the top of his left ear.

He was taken to hospital and given six sutures.

ASIRT determined the officer who shot the suspect was "acting properly in the execution of his duties."

"The force used was proportionate, necessary, and reasonable in all the circumstances," said the report.