Alberta man killed in police standoff

EDMONTON – An 11-hour standoff with police in a northern Alberta aboriginal community ended when a 37-year-old man was fatally gunned down by a Mountie Saturday, said the RCMP.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Patrick Webb said the Lakeshore Regional Police Service was called to a disturbance at a home in the Driftpile First Nation sometime around 10 p.m. Friday.

When police arrived, the call turned to a weapons complaint when a shot was fired as cops approached the home.

That's when the service called the RCMP emergency response team for backup, said Webb.

After a standoff that lasted more than 11 hours, a Mountie fatally shot a man who came out of the house carrying a firearm at around 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

No one else was injured.

"The officer is getting help through the RCMP's members assistance program," said Webb.

Mounties refused to release further details about the shooting, but the police did say the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating.

Webb said it's expected the cop will be on active duty soon, once the officer has had time getting help through the RCMP assistance program.

The spokesman was tight-lipped when asked about the officer's identity, including age, rank and years of experience.

Driftpile First Nation is about 320 km northwest of Edmonton.

Investigators with ASIRT could not be reached for comment.

This is the second time the province's serious incident response team has responded to a shooting in an aboriginal community over the past week.

Another ASIRT investigation is still underway after a Mountie shot a 26-year-old man after a family disturbance in the Alexander First Nation Tuesday. The man was rushed to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, investigators with ASIRT are also still investigating the death of a 53-year-old man who was killed after he was struck by an RCMP cruiser in the Big Stone Cree reserve Aug. 12.

Roy Beauregard was celebrating Treaty Days, an annual summertime event in the community roughly 320 km north of Edmonton.

Mounties say a southbound police vehicle was responding to an assault complaint when the officer noticed Beauregard crossing the road directly in front of him shortly before 11 p.m.

Police say the officer took immediate "evasive action" and swerved into the northbound lane while trying to avoid oncoming traffic.

But the vehicle struck the man, sending him flying into a nearby ditch. He was rushed to hospital where he later died.

jeff.cummings@sunmedia.ca

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Trans activists question police conduct

OTTAWA – More than 50 queer and transgender rights activists held a sit-in at Ottawa police headquarters on Elgin Street Saturday to protest the arrest of two people during the first Transgender Day of Remembrance event in Canada.

"None of us wants to be here, but we don't trust that the police are going to treat them with respect and treat them fairly," community activist Taiva Tegler told QMI Agency.

Two women were arrested at 1:18 p.m. Saturday after a banner reading "Remember Stonewall?" was unfurled over Highway 417 in the city's Metcalfe region.

Stonewall refers to a gay bar in New York City that was raided by police in 1969, which led to the modern gay-rights movement.

Ottawa Police Service staff sergeant Hugh O'Toole said the arrest of the pair — who were brought in for mischief — is unfortunate.

"It's their day, their event. Two members took it a little bit too far and created a public safety issue," he said.

Shortly after the arrest, O'Toole said 50 protesters peacefully assembled at the station to wait for their friends.

"We took no issue with that," he said. "Obviously, we want to get them out of here as soon as we can."

Tegler said her friends were putting forward an important message and she isn't surprised by their arrest.

"Whether you're dropping a banner or simply existing, you will be targeted by the police," she said.

Saturday's arrest occurred on the same day as a groundbreaking flag-raising ceremony for the transgender community hosted by Ottawa Police.

But Tegler said she's not buying it.

"We need to remember these communities continue to be criminalized and brutalized by police. We're going through the paces to ensure police accountability," she said.

Transgender Day of Remembrance honours those killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

Tegler said police are part of the problem, not the solution.

"The police do not represent safety for a lot of people," she said.

O'Toole said there's a difference between protesting and committing a crime.

"They were creating an unsafe situation on the 417, and we had to intervene," he said.

kelly.roche@sunmedia.ca

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