Police watchdog clears RCMP officer involved in Whitehorse shooting incident | CBC News

A police watchdog says a Whitehorse RCMP officer who shot and seriously injured a man last year acted lawfully and was justified in his use of force.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) on Friday released its investigation report on the incident in September 2022 that left the officer with a gunshot wound and the man he was pursuing in hospital with several gunshot wounds.

ASIRT is under contract to the Yukon government to look into any deaths or serious injuries involving police officers, as well as allegations of police misconduct.

The investigation report released on Friday describes what happened on the evening of Sept. 28, 2022, when police went to a house in the Porter Creek neighbourhood to arrest a man — earlier identified by Yukon RCMP as Sheldon Keobke — who was subject to an arrest warrant.

What followed was a chase involving Keobke and an officer who both ultimately shot each other, though not fatally.

ASIRT investigators interviewed both Keobke and the officer involved to determine the sequence of events. The two accounts did not agree, but ASIRT investigators determined that Keobke’s version was not supported by other evidence collected at the scene.

“After a thorough, independent and objective investigation into the conduct of SO [the subject officer], it is my opinion that SO was lawfully placed and acting properly in the execution of his duties,” the report reads.

“The use of force … was proportionate, necessary and reasonable in all of the circumstances.”

Altercation led to shots fired

According to the investigation report, police went to the Porter Creek residence on that day to arrest Keobke. The suspect had a “history of violence,” and so the RCMP Emergency Response Team went along to assist.

At the residence, Keobke got into a vehicle and attempted to drive away but was stopped by police. He then got out of the vehicle and police lost sight of him as he ran into a nearby property.

An officer, stationed at the corner of a nearby property then saw Keobke running toward him and a fight between the two ensued.

The altercation “resulted in SO [the subject officer] discharging his police-issued carbine ten times at AP [affected person, or Keobke], while AP fired three rounds from a 9 mm handgun at SO,” the report reads.

Keobke initially fell to the ground but then got up and made for a nearby fence. The officer then shot two more rounds at Keobke as the man scaled the fence.

The shootout left the officer with a single gunshot wound in his thigh, while Keobke suffered “multiple” gunshot wounds to his arms, chest and leg, the report states.

The officer was treated in hospital and later discharged, while Keobke underwent surgery for his injuries and stayed in hospital “for a short period of time,” the report says.

Keobke testified to ASIRT investigators that his firearm went off unintentionally when he was shot, and it was “not his intent to shoot the officer.”

Investigators examined the scene, including the location of firearm casings and blood, and determined that “the scene evidence does not support [Keobke]’s version of events.”

They concluded that it wasn’t possible that Keobke fired by accident, as the evidence showed there were “multiple discharges” from his weapon.

ASIRT concluded that the officer involved acted reasonably in response to a “lethal threat.”

The report describes how the officer was tending his own gunshot wound when Keobke attempted to flee over the fence.

“[The officer] had a subject who was armed with a firearm and had shown he was prepared to use it on him, or reasonably believed on another officer nearby, so [the officer] shot at Keobke two more times,” the report states.

“At this time, no other use of force options were reasonably available for attempted use. The subject officer’s reliance on using his firearm to incapacitate this threat was both necessary and reasonable.”