The two RCMP officers charged with manslaughter in the 2018 shooting death of a man near Whitecourt have been found not guilty. Multiple sources report that after just a few hours of deliberation, the jury delivered not guilty verdicts on the four charges against Constable Jessica Brown and Corporal Randy Stenger.
31-year-old Clayton Crawford was shot at by the mounties 10 times during an altercation at a rest stop near Whitecourt on July 3, 2018.
The officers had been alerted that the vehicle he was sleeping in was potentially involved in a shooting in Valhalla Centre the day before. Crawford had been inside the home at the time of the shooting, and the court heard there was confusion about whether the man in the vehicle was a suspect.
The defendants testified that they shot at Crawford when he tried to flee from the rest stop, acting in self-defence. The Crown argued they used excessive force.
