Chris Clegg
South Peace News
Law enforcement officials have been cleared of any wrongdoing during an incident June 17-18, 2021 where Lionel Ernest Grey, then 29, of Gift Lake, and police dog Jago, both died.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) launched an investigation into the matter and released its report Oct. 9, over three years after the incident.
The report says Grey died on the scene north of High Prairie after being shot six times.
“Death was due to multiple gunshot wounds,” the report reads.
One officer fired five rounds, another six during the incident after Grey previously fired at officers.
During two earlier encounters, other officers shot at Grey during attempts to arrest him.
It is now known how many times Grey was hit during each of the three attempts to arrest him.
An autopsy on Grey showed that he had methamphetamine in his system at the time of death.
ASIRT’s conclusion reads as follows:
“On June 17, (Grey) had warrants out for his arrest. (Four officers, SO1, SO2, SO3 and WO3) tracked him into a forest after he abandoned his vehicle. In the dense forest, (Grey) shot at the officers in an apparent attempt at an ambush, killing a police dog. SO2 responded by shooting back at (Grey). (Grey) ran away uninjured, and then circled back toward the officers. SO1 and SO3, when they spotted (Grey) coming back, fired at him.
“In the early morning of June 18, SO4, SO5, SO6, and WO4 (other officers) tracked (Grey) again. When they found him and he did not immediately surrender, SO4, SO5 and SO6 fired at him. (Grey) again escaped. Later that day, SO7 and SO8 (Other officers) were driving near the spot (Grey) was seen last and saw him on the side of the road. When he was told he was under arrest (Grey) picked up a rifle, SO7 and SO8 shot him.
“As noted above, defences under Section 25 and Section 34 of the Criminal Code are likely to apply to the actions of the subject officers. There are therefore no reasonable grounds to believe that the subject officers committed any offences.”
In short, Section 25 of the Criminal Code allows officers to administer the law if he/she acts on reasonable grounds, justified in doing what he/she is required or authorized to do and in using as much force as is necessary for that purpose.
In short, Section 34 of the Criminal Code cites everyone who is unlawfully assaulted without having provoked the assault is justified in defending themselves.
The report was issued by Matthew Block, assistant executive director, ASIRT.
The investigation
ASIRT investigators obtained video from an officer’s police vehicle, which captured the third scene shortly after the office-involved shooting. Investigators also obtained police radio communications from the incident. They also obtained Grey’s autopsy conducted by the chief medical examiner and the report from the necropsy of the deceased police service dog (Jago) from a vet.
The
circumstances
On June 17, 2021, Grey had multiple outstanding warrants. That morning, RCMP tried to stop Grey while he was driving a red Cadillac. Grey drove off and nearby RCMP detachments were notified.
Grey was known to be in possession of firearms at times but it was not known if he possessed firearms at this time.
Scene 1
At 11 a.m., (police) located the red Cadillac on a service road off Township Road 770. Four officers used their police vehicles to pin the Cadillac. The Cadillac was empty and had a tarp covering part of it.
The officers started to track Grey using Jago. One police officer was armed with a carbine rifle, the other two drew their handguns. The fourth carried handgun but did not draw initially.
Jago found a bag, which contained items with Grey’s name on them and at least three types of ammunition. Police tracked Grey into dense forest and a swamp. Eventually, police heard a crashing sound and released Jago with a command to find the suspect. Further commands were yelled and Grey was told he was under arrest.
“He then heard rapid gunfire from a high-powered rifle and a scream from the dog. Although he could not see him, (the officer) thought that the dog had been shot,” the report reads.
An officer then drew his handgun, told Grey to drop his gun, and approach. Grey was about 30 yards ahead with an assault rifle in his hand. Grey raised his rifle and fired 4-6 shots at the officer, then started to run away, then stopped and raised his rifle again. The officer fired two more shots but Grey ran away. The officer did not believe any of his shots had hit Grey.
The four officers then took defensive positions, believing that Grey intended to ambush and kill them.
A short time later, Grey was spotted again. It appeared Grey had circled around and was coming back to shoot them, reads the report. One officer fired nine shots and a second officer fired 10 shots at Grey, who moved away and out of sight.
Officers later processed the scene and found casings consistent with the ammunition. Some casings were likely not located.
In all, ASIRT determined that police officers fired 26 rounds during the incident.
It is noted that the critical incident commander told all police officers involved that lethal force was to be used on Grey unless he was in the act of overt surrender. The report states again that the four officers believed Grey intended to kill the officers as part of his escape.
Scene 2
Four officers were searching for Grey in dense forest when they spotted him about 50-75 metres away. Police called out instructions to Grey but they were ignored prompting three officers to fire at Grey, who disappeared. Police did not know if Grey had been hit or not. Officers again called out to Grey but he did not respond.
The scene was processed and officers found eight casings, some likely not located. Officers estimated they had fired anywhere from 11-14 shots from two officers, the third admitted firing multiple shots.
Scene 3
By now, other officers were brought in to assist. At 11:30 a.m. on June 18, two officers were driving an unmarked police truck north on Range Road 170. They saw Grey sitting in a ditch along the road as they drove by him. Police stopped the truck, one officer exited, pointed his carbine rifle at Grey, and yelled, “Stop, police! You’re under arrest!”
Grey ran into the trees and one officer saw Grey holding a gun. Officers were concerned Grey planned to circle and ambush them.
“SO8 (police officer) felt that (Grey’s) firearm would give him an advantage over SO8, who had drawn his handgun. SO8 fired four shots at Grey from 10-15 metres away,” reads the report.
The other officer fired his gun four times at Grey and thought he had hit him. Grey fell to the ground and said he had been shot.
Other officers nearby heard the shots and went to the area. They saw Grey laying in the grass. Paramedics were called to assist Grey but he died at the scene.
The scene was processed. Six casings from one officer’s gun, and four carbine casings from the other gun were found near the police vehicle. Later, it appeared that the officers fired 11 rounds between them.
Analysis
Under Section 25 of the Criminal Code, police officers are permitted to use as much force as necessary for the execution of their duties. To use the force necessary in this case, reads the report, police officers must fear for their own lives and safety.
“The force used here, discharging a firearm repeatedly at a person, was clearly intended or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm,” reads the report.
It adds the following comments.
“Necessity requires that there are not reasonable alternatives to the use of force that also accomplish the same goal, which in this situation is the preservation of the life of the officer or another person under his protection.”
In short, the police officers acted appropriately in self-defence.
In ASIRT’s opinion, in any potential criminal charge against any of the officers, self-defence would be used and available to the officers in a court of law.