On Sept. 10, 2021, at approximately 11:45 a.m., Wetaskiwin RCMP responded to a complaint of a male carrying a firearm while walking southbound on Highway 2A, approximately 1.5 km south of Wetaskiwin.
Wetaskiwin RCMP, with the assistance of RCMP Police Dog Services, responded to the area and quickly located a lone male walking with a firearm. As the suspect was not following police verbal commands to drop the firearm, for public and police safety, a police vehicle was used to disarm the male. A 35-year-old male was subsequently taken into custody. On-scene officers provided medical assistance, and the male was then transported to a local area hospital via ground ambulance with non-life threatening injuries. No officers were injured as a result of this incident.
Wetaskiwin RCMP continue to investigate this incident with the assistance of an RCMP Collision Reconstructionist who remains on scene.
Southbound traffic on Highway 2A, approximately 1.5 km south of Wetaskiwin, is being diverted and this is expected to continue for several hours. Motorists are being asked to avoid the area or take alternate routes.
No further details are available at this time.
The RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it's important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable. This is why, when we become aware of a situation that requires review, we immediately initiate internal processes to look at the totality of the incident, including the actions of the RCMP, the use of force during the incident, and the duty status of the members. This incident was reported to the Director of Law Enforcement of Alberta and was deemed to be in-scope; however, although determined to be in scope, ASIRT will not be conducting an investigation. This incident will be reviewed by an RCMP internal review process.