BONNYVILLE - The first part of February was a “particularly dangerous” stretch for Bonnyville RCMP.
According to Staff Sgt. Sarah Parke, members were involved in several high-risk incidents during the week of Feb. 9 to 16.
Bonnyville RCMP members were involved in armed and barricaded incidents, one of which escalated to an officer involved shooting that the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is now involved with.
“While this past week was more often than the norm, the Bonnyville RCMP deal with these types of situations and individuals on a consistent basis putting themselves at risk,” says Staff Sgt. Sarah Parke. “The larger societal issues of addiction and/or mental health played a role in all of these incidents from the past week, and these types of incidents are becoming more and more common.”
Parke adds, “As long as these issues continue to persist, we will have individuals making poor choices and exhibiting behaviours that put themselves, the public and the police at risk.”
Incidents
On Feb. 9 at 1 a.m., RCMP members were dispatched to a residence in Kehewin where a man allegedly pointed a handgun at a victim, threatened to shoot them then reportedly proceeded to fire the handgun twice inside the residence.
“Members attended and surrounded the residence and were able to get the other occupants out safely,” according to information from police. The RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) from Edmonton was called out to assist.
“After negotiation efforts were unsuccessful, they entered the residence and secured the suspect without any further violence or injury to anyone. This incident lasted six hours,” according to police.
A 41-year-old man from Kehewin was charged with firearms related offences and uttering threats.
On Feb. 9, Bonnyville RCMP were involved in a shooting in a rural area within the MD of Bonnyville.
RCMP confirmed a man was shot by police during a confrontation at a rural residence near Chicken Hill Lake in the MD of Bonnyville. The suspect was reportedly in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
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On Feb. 10, police were called to a residence in Kehewin where a man with a firearm allegedly threatened to harm himself.
“Members attended and surrounded the residence, and the other occupant of the residence was able to leave safely. The RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) from Edmonton was called out to assist,” according to police.
The situation came to a resolve after four hours, and RCMP transported the man to designated mental health facility to seek aid. The man is not being charged.
On Feb. 15 at 9:40 a.m., Bonnyville RCMP were dispatched to a gun complaint where a victim alleges a man and woman attended her residence, threatened her with a handgun and pointed it in her face before fleeing in an SUV.
“RCMP scoured the community and located the SUV 20 minutes later at a residential complex on 66 Street near 49 Avenue,” according to police. “Traffic was diverted from the area while RCMP worked to resolve the issue which resulted in the arrest of two adults.”
This incident lasted four hours and resulted in charges against a 21-year-old woman from Bonnyville, and charges against a 47-year-old man from Bonnyville.
“No members of the public or RCMP were injured during the incident,” according to RCMP.
Parke says help from various other RCMP detachments including Cold Lake, Elk Point and St. Paul detachments, and units such as ERT, Police Dog Services, and Eastern Alberta District Crime Reduction Unit, were key in the successful apprehension of the individuals involved.
