Absent additional information, police officers are entitled to assume that items that appear to be guns are real guns.”
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An RCMP officer who shot a man brandishing what appeared to be a handgun on the doorstep of a central Alberta courthouse has been cleared of wrongdoing.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) released its findings Thursday about the Feb. 10, 2022, shooting outside the provincial government building in Ponoka, concluding the officer was justified in firing on the man.
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ASIRT’s decision does not identify the victim, who survived his injuries. According to court records, he is 42-year-old West Thomas Aldridge, who told ASIRT investigators he was taking a walk after using methamphetamine and didn’t think anyone would mistake his paintball gun for a real firearm.
Aldridge was spotted by a 911 caller in downtown Ponoka around 9:35 a.m. the day of the shooting, carrying what appeared to be a pistol. He approached the courthouse doors, shouting, but found them locked.
Two RCMP officers arrived a short time later, pulled out their rifles, and yelled for Aldridge to drop the gun. The first officer opened fire when Aldridge lowered the weapon and pointed it in his direction.
The officer fired 12 rounds, four of which hit Aldridge. The remainder struck the courthouse. The officers approached the wounded man, handcuffed him, and began first aid. They found the paintball gun and a knife Aldridge was carrying.
Paramedics later arrived and Aldridge was airlifted to hospital.
Matthew Block, ASIRT’s assistant executive director, said the officer’s decision to shoot was defensible under section 25 of the Criminal Code, which allows police officers “to use as much force as is necessary for execution of their duties.”
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“Where this force is intended or is likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm, the officer must believe on reasonable grounds that the force is necessary for the self-preservation of the officer or preservation of anyone under that officer’s protection,” he wrote.
A man carrying a gun to a government building is a “serious threat,” Block said, noting the officers had a duty to protect the people inside.
The officer was also reasonable in concluding the paintball gun might be a real firearm, ASIRT said.
“Everyone else who saw what (Aldridge) was holding that day thought that it was a real firearm,” Block wrote.
“Absent additional information, police officers are entitled to assume that items that appear to be guns are real guns. While they must always be live to the possibility that an apparent gun is not real, requiring that police officers confirm that a gun is real prior to acting on it would mean that people with real guns would have time to shoot the officers.”
Aldridge was charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He was found guilty in 2023 and given an 18-month suspended sentence served in the community under supervision. He was also given a 10-year firearms prohibition.
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Aldridge told ASIRT investigators he felt it was his “right” to take a walk carrying the paintball gun. He tried to hide from police in the courthouse after hearing someone calling 911.
“(He) did not think the officers should have shot him because they should have realized that the paintball gun was not a real gun,” ASIRT’s report summarizes.
Aldridge did not consent to ASIRT accessing his medical records for the investigation.
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