The investigation into a case involving a suspicious bank teller and a 3D-printed handgun that led to the shooting death of a man in Mackenzie last year has ended without charges for the police officer involved.
BC’s Independent Investigations Office (IIO), which probes serious injuries or deaths that result from the public’s interactions with police, concluded that charges were not warranted.
Investigators determined that a man tried to cash a cheque at a bank on June 1, 2024, but the teller recognized the signature as that of someone who had died three years before, despite the cheque being dated to that day. Police were called and escorted the suspect out of the bank without handcuffs. The suspect then fled and was caught by an officer and two bystanders, but managed to get away before brandishing a black handgun. The officer then shot the suspect in the neck.
Investigators say a video shows parts of the encounter, and that the officer tried to perform First Aid.
The suspect was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead.
The IIO determined that the weapon was a loaded and fully functioning 3D-printed 9mm handgun, and that the officer felt an immediate threat to his life, making lethal force justified.
"Despite the courageous efforts of the two civilians, it appears that the (suspect) was getting the upper hand in the fight that then ensued," the report states. "What the (suspect) then did, in pointing a firearm directly at the (officer)’s head during the struggle, gave the officer reasonable grounds to believe he faced imminent death or grievous bodily harm, and his deployment of lethal force in response was necessary and justified."
Police officers involved in IIO investigations are not required to provide evidence. In this case, the officer declined to speak to investigators, the IIO reports.
The investigation relied on:
- Statements of 13 civilian witnesses and one witness police officer;
- Police Computer-Aided Dispatch (“CAD”) and Police Records Information
- Management Environment (“PRIME”) records;
- Audio recordings of 911 call and police radio transmissions;
- Civilian witness cell phone video recordings;
- Security camera video recordings from commercial premises;
- Scene and exhibits examinations and forensic firearms reports;
- Autopsy and toxicology reports.
