A Calgary police officer was accused of murder after a 2023 police shooting that left two dead men.
Constant Craig Stothard faces two second -degree murder positions derived from a shooting that took place on May 29, 2023.
The court documents identify Wesley Davidson and Levon Boyce Fox while the two victims killed in the shooting.
On Tuesday, the Alberta Serious Incident Team (ASIRT), a provincial agency that investigates incidents in which death or serious injuries may have been caused by the police, announced the charges after their investigation.
The evidence gathered during Asirt’s investigation provided reasonable reasons to believe that crimes had been committed, according to a statement.
Asirt’s findings were sent to the Service of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Alberta Crown, which determined that the evidence complied with its standard to take the case to trial.
According to Stothard’s lawyer, Don Macleod, the officer “maintains his innocence and intends to set up a complete and vigorous defense.”
The call reported men ‘suspicious and deteriorated’
The incident took place along Memorial Drive, an important road through center of Calgary.
On May 29, 2023, just after 10:00 am, a security guard informed three “suspicious and deteriorated people” on a private property, according to Calgary police at that time.
The three men fled in a stolen truck of five tons of bucket that, according to the reports, was driving in an erratic and dangerous way along the memorial Drive towards the west.
The officers followed the slow movement vehicle while continued to turn the road. Police vehicles were placed in strategic locations to make sure the truck did not enter the center of the city very populated.
Several attempts were made to contain the truck, but due to its size, it broke the containment.
Stothard ‘On Leave’
Police say that 45 minutes after the incident began, the situation became the point where an officer discharged his firearm, killing two of the suspects inside the vehicle.
A third person was arrested.
Stothard was a 15 -year veteran of the Calgary Police Service (CPS).
According to the service, Stothard “is currently licensed.”
CPS did not explain whether the officer was on permission with or without pay.
Police declaration
In a written statement provided to CBC News, CPS said “trusts the integrity of Asirt’s investigation.”
“The positions are of an extremely serious nature, and we recognize that incidents such as this challenge the confidence that communities have in the Calgary Police Service,” says part of the statement.
“We are committed to listening, learning and taking all possible steps to understand what can be learned from what happened.”
CPS also offered condolences to family members duel of the victims.
