The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is not recommending charges against a Grande Prairie RCMP officer following a high speed pursuit around the city in 2018, which according to the report, saw the officer driving at speeds of 193 kilometres per hour.
The police oversight body also believes there was no connection to the speed of police and the suspect vehicle, and the fatal collision which took the life of an Edmonton man shortly after the chase.
The incident happened on October 29th, 2018, when according to the ASIRT report, the officer in question was on 84 Avenue when he spotted the Ford F350 doing 84 km/h in a 60 zone. When police turned on their sirens and lights to attempt to catch up, both the officer, and suspect reached speeds well above 140 kilometres per hour. ASIRTs investigation revealed after turning off 84 Avenue onto 116 Street, the two vehicles sped up again,
with the police vehicle reading speeds of 193 km/h during this time.
When the suspect vehicle then turned around and began travelling northbound on 116 Street, police waited for another unrelated vehicle to travel through the area, and then continued the pursuit. After trailing the suspect car for a total of three minutes to this point, the officer then notified dispatch or his supervisors that he was involved in a pursuit, as required by RCMP Policy.
Minutes later, the suspect vehicle, no longer being trailed by police, ran a red light at the intersection of 68 Avenue and 100 Street, collided with another vehicle at a high rate of speed, and fled the scene. The driver of the vehicle, a 26-year-old Edmonton man succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Investigation revealed the suspect vehicle was reported stolen from the city on October 15th.
The report states after careful consideration, including seeking the opinion of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, that while ASIRT will not recommend criminal charges against the officer, however, their actions and failure to follow RCMP Policy put himself and other users of the road at risk.