Last week proved to be a particularly dangerous one for the Bonnyville RCMP. In addition to the regular calls for service, they were involved in numerous high-risk incidents and were forced to put their lives in danger to protect the public. Bonnyville RCMP members were involved in several Armed and Barricaded incidents, one of which escalated to a member involved shooting.
On February 9 at 1:00 am members were dispatched to a residence in Kehewin Cree Nation for a male who pointed a handgun at the victim, threatened to shoot them then proceeded to fire the handgun twice inside the residence. Members attended and surrounded the residence and were able to get the other occupants out safely. The RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) from Edmonton was called out to assist. After negotiation efforts were unsuccessful, they entered the residence and secured the suspect without any further violence or injury to anyone. This incident lasted 6 hours. The 41-year-old male from Kehewin is charged with 4 Firearms related offences and Uttering Threats. His Next court date is February 20.
On February 9 at 9:45 pm the Bonnyville RCMP were involved in a shooting. Members responded to a report of a male acting erratically, trying to break into a room where people were hiding and causing damage to a rural home in the Municipal District of Bonnyville. Recognizing the imminent threat, members identified themselves and entered the residence. Immediate efforts to de-escalate were successful allowing the members to escort other people within the household to safety.
However, the suspect then confronted officers again. This resulted in an officer discharging their
service firearm and the suspect being seriously injured. Officers immediately transitioned to life
saving measures, rendering critical first aid to the suspect as EMS was called. The suspect has been taken by STARS to hospital where they remain in serious, life-threatening condition. A non-police firearm was recovered at the scene.
No members of the public or officers were injured during the incident. In compliance with legislative requirements, the Director of Law Enforcement was immediately.
notified causing the deployment of ASIRT to conduct an independent investigation.
On February 10 at 5:30 pm, members were dispatched to a residence in Kehewin Cree Nation for a male with a firearm threatening to harm himself. Members attended and surrounded the residence and the other occupant of the residence was able to leave safely. The RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) from Edmonton was called out to assist. They called out to the individual inside the home and were able to successfully negotiate his surrender. RCMP then transported the male to a designated mental health facility to seek aid. The male is not being charged. This incident lasted 4 hours.
On February 15 at 9:40 am, the Bonnyville RCMP were dispatched to a gun complaint whereby the victim alleged a male and female attended her residence, threatened her with a handgun and pointed it in her face before fleeing in an SUV. RCMP scoured the community and located the SUV 20 minutes later at a residential complex on 66 Street near 49 Avenue. Traffic was diverted from the area while RCMP worked to resolve the issue which resulted in the arrest of two adults. No members of the public or RCMP were injured during the incident. This incident lasted 4 hours. A 21-year-old female from Bonnyville is charged with 6 Firearms related offences, Breaking & Entering, Mischief and 5 counts of Failing to Comply with a Court Condition. A 47-year-old male from Bonnyville is charged with 2 Firearms offences, Breaking & Entering, Mischief and failing to comply with a Court ordered release Condition. Both are remanded in custody and set to appear in court on February 20.
S/Sgt. Parke says: “While this past week was more often than the norm, the Bonnyville RCMP deal with these types of situations and individuals on a consistent basis putting themselves at risk. The larger societal issues of addiction and/or mental health played a role in ALL of these incidents from the past week and these types of incidents are becoming more and more common. As long as these issues continue to persist, we will have individuals making poor choices and exhibiting behaviours that put themselves, the public and the police at risk. The assistance from various other RCMP detachments such as Cold Lake, Elk Point & St. Paul Detachments and units such as ERT, Police Dog Services, Eastern Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit were key in the successful apprehension of these individuals.”
S/Sgt. Sarah Parke Detachment Commander
Bonnyville Detachment RCMP