Calgary Police charged with two counts of 2nd degree murder

[jayswin]

Just breaking now, from that shooting at a cube van on memorial two years ago.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...585785?cmp=rss

A Calgary police officer has been charged with murder following a 2023 police shooting that left two men dead.

Const. Craig Stothard faces two charges of second-degree murder stemming from a shooting that took place on May 29, 2023.

The evidence gathered during ASIRT's investigation provided reasonable grounds to believe that offences had been committed, a release said.

ASIRT's findings were forwarded to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service which determined the evidence met its standard for taking the case to trial.

According to Stothard's lawyer Don MacLeod, the officer "maintains his innocence and he intends to mount a full and vigorous defence."

The incident took place along Memorial Drive, a major road through inner-city Calgary.

On May 29, 2023, just after 10:00 a.m., a security guard reported three "suspicious and impaired individuals" on a private property, according to Calgary police at the time.

The three men fled in a stolen five-ton cube van that was then reportedly being driven in an erratic and dangerous manner along westbound Memorial Drive.

Officers followed the slow-moving vehicle as it continued swerving along the road. Police vehicles were placed in strategic locations to make sure the van didn't get into the heavily populated downtown.

A number of attempts were made to contain the van, but because of its size, it broke through the containment.

[metallicat]

Wow. Huge news. This will be very interesting to follow.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by metallicat

Wow. Huge news. This will be very interesting to follow.

Yeah, surprised it's so quiet on this in Calgary (here and elsewhere). What it would take for ASIRT to recommend second degree murder charges after a chase seems like there was serious lack of procedure or moment of bad judgement? This is huge.

[metallicat]

Yeah I don’t know. I have zero details. Certainly there are instances where firing into a vehicle could be justified. Seems as though ASIRT found that there was reasonable grounds to suggest this wasn’t a good shoot.

[DownInFlames]

I need to hear details before I comment. I remember when this happened and I assumed the van was being driven recklessly and was going to run over the officer. Now it’s not clear what happened. We’ll find out during the trial.

[Snuffleupagus]

A friend of my son saw it happen, at the time he was traumatized and called it overkill (pardon the pun)

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I need to hear details before I comment. I remember when this happened and I assumed the van was being driven recklessly and was going to run over the officer. Now it’s not clear what happened. We’ll find out during the trial.

I remember at the time it seemed completely odd that the news reported that the van was fleeing, but going super slow at the time of the shooting and suddenly the officer started firing shots. Like the officer reached a breaking point in the pursuit that didn't fit the present situation. Basically "you've been F-in around for an hour while we chase you and haven't stopped/complied, I'm pumping you guys full of lead for this now, A holes".

[jayswin]

ASIRT really points to body cams being a huge aid in laying these charges. A lot of police have hated them, but their findings hint at why they are there.

"Even though witness officers certainly co-operated with our investigation,… and do their best to give us a full and complete recollection of everything they heard and everything they saw in going through these instances, it can be difficult for a proper recollection," said Ewenson.

"Having body-worn camera footage gives us an objective view of what occurred in terms of what was seen and what was heard."

I'm probably reading too much into the release, but it almost sounds a little like "yeah, thanks CPS officers for saying what you said, but the body cams showed what actually happened, so thanks for wearing them".

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I need to hear details before I comment. I remember when this happened and I assumed the van was being driven recklessly and was going to run over the officer. Now it’s not clear what happened. We’ll find out during the trial.

Yeah, we'll see. It would be EXTREMELY tough to believe that a van was about to run over a Calgary Police Officer and the CPS officer that stopped that with lethal force was charged with two counts of second degree murder by a provincial watchdog, ASIRT. But yeah, we'll see what comes of this in trial. In basically ANY instance where a police officer is in life threatening danger and lethal force is applied it is cut and dried as justified. And 2 counts of homicide charges is WAAAYYY above that response.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

A friend of my son saw it happen, at the time he was traumatized and called it overkill (pardon the pun)

Did he act as a witness in the case?

[Robbob]

It will be interesting to see the details come out. I do recall it was rather strange low speed chase. I also remember them blocking downtown so the van couldn't get there. At the time I thought with all the trucks used as weapons that the actions were justified, but that is obviously not the case.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

A friend of my son saw it happen, at the time he was traumatized and called it overkill (pardon the pun)

Apparently another witness saw it happen live too and was commenting how the van wasn't really a danger at the time of the shooting. Obviously ASIRT knows more than what is being reported. Can't recall a charge recommendation like this from them in forever, if ever . I'm thinking a huge discrepancy between what the bodycam/area footage showed and perhaps what the officer(s) involved reported.

[Amethyst]

I don't follow such things closely, but it seems like anytime I hear of situations where ASIRT is involved, they determine the office was justified. So the fact that they didn't say that and the crown is going with second degree murder is interesting.

The other officers' statements that possibly don't agree with the body cam - intentionally or unintentionally sticking up for each other when they have a tough job to do?

It will be interesting to see what comes of this case.

[Ugly Kid Joe]

Civilian video of the incident.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.6858366

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Ugly Kid Joe

Civilian video of the incident.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.6858366

Does that one truck that splits the group end up being the one in front cutting the van off? If I had to guess who had a jumpy trigger finger…

But I won’t. I’ll wait and see what they found. It’s good to see we still have some checks and balances on power positions.

[metallicat]

Unfortunately that video shows virtually nothing. The problem with a truck that big is there aren’t many vehicles that can be used to properly box it in. Even the F150 or whatever it was is probably not enough, especially with only Explorers. Impossible to say what happened from that video alone. Listening to the radio transmissions and seeing the body cameras would be fascinating.

[pseudoreality]

Originally Posted by jayswin

ASIRT really points to body cams being a huge aid in laying these charges. A lot of police have hated them, but their findings hint at why they are there.


I'm probably reading too much into the release, but it almost sounds a little like "yeah, thanks CPS officers for saying what you said, but the body cams showed what actually happened, so thanks for wearing them".

If its clear that officers lied in an attempt to cover-up murder, I'd love to see some charges related to that, but I'd not holding my breath.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by pseudoreality

If its clear that officers lied in an attempt to cover-up murder, I'd love to see some charges related to that, but I'd not holding my breath.

Pretty big stretch here . From even the video above you can see multiple cars involved in the slow chase. If you are a witness in real time to the shooting from any of those vehicles your interpretation of what happened could differ from body footage from within the accused's car without “lieing” to cover up an (alleged ) murder - and let’s not pretend this was an officer shooting someone completely innocent / unarmed fleeing suspect in the back , etc .

They were driving an extremely dangerous , almost unstoppable, stolen vehicle through downtown Calgary (albeit almost comically slow ) for an hour .

I do wonder if audio from the body cam may be a large factor in the charges - for a murder charge to occur ….. did the officer say something in advance of the shooting ….

[cam_wmh]

Were the two suspects armed?

[Geraldsh]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Were the two suspects armed?

Yes, they were armed with a one ton cube van, would have been extremely dangerous if they ever found second gear.