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Cold Lake Mountie cleared in fatal high-speed chase

Edmonton officer cleared of wrongdoing after police dog bites off woman's ear

A Cold Lake RCMP officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in a high-speed chase that killed a 36-year-old man and injured three others in the summer of 2016.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has released its findings on the Aug. 6 criminal pursuit which ended when the suspect vehicle hit a pick-up truck occupied by a family of three.

Toxicology reports indicated that the deceased's blood-alcohol level was almost three times over the legal limit.

Methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine and marijuana were also detected in his blood.

"There are no reasonable grounds to believe that the RCMP officer committed any Criminal Code offence during this incident," ASIRT said in a news release Tuesday.

"While the death of the man and the injury to the occupants of the other vehicle were both tragic and criminal, that criminality relates to the conduct of the deceased driver and not the officer."

RCMP responded to a call at 5:45 p.m. of an intoxicated man leaving the scene of a fight outside an apartment building in Cold Lake.

The responding officer, driving an unmarked police vehicle, began following the Jeep as it weaved through city streets.

The officer, with sirens blaring, tried pulling the Jeep over, but the driver, who was shaking and slumped in his seat, sped off, ASIRT said.

"The officer attempted various techniques to slow down the Jeep, but the driver fled in an extremely dangerous manner, travelling at high speed, passing other vehicles, and proceeding through a four-way stop without stopping."

"At one point, the Jeep was driven so fast that it went over a hill and was described by witnesses as literally leaving the ground.

"The officer lost sight of the Jeep as it proceeded over another hill, and he observed a cloud of dust and debris rising."

The Jeep collided with a pick-up, flipped over and landed in a ditch.

A 43-year-old woman suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries to her face and arm.

The 55-year-old man who had been driving the pick-up and their three-year-old daughter suffered minor bruising and lacerations.

The driver of the Jeep was found lying on the interior roof. Paramedics initially found a pulse, but he later died on scene.

The cause of death was determined to be blunt cranial trauma, with alcohol and drug intoxication as a contributing factor.

'An effort to mitigate the risks'

ASIRT said the officer "acted reasonably" under difficult circumstances.

"The officer demonstrated awareness of the risks in a pursuit, and an effort to mitigate the risks," ASIRT said.

"The conduct of the driver, both prior to and while operating the Jeep, constituted a number of Criminal Code offences. His behaviour endangered his own life and the lives of others in the area, and ultimately caused the collision that resulted in his death."

ASIRT investigates incidents involving Alberta's police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.