Police didn't fire guns in fatal confrontation: ASIRT

EDMONTON -

Alberta's police watchdog says a man who died in a police confrontation fired at officers first, and the bullet that killed him didn't come from either of their guns.

The man was found with a reciprocating saw early in the morning of July 3 beneath a vehicle in west Edmonton.

After he died in hospital that day, Edmonton Police Service only said a confrontation had happened during which one officer used a non-lethal force weapon and that it was believed neither EPS member there had shot the man.

In an investigation update Friday, the agency responsible for investigating all death or serious injuries involving police said the 50-year-old suspect "fired several shots" at police.

"An EPS member deployed a Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW). At some point, the man sustained a single gunshot wound," the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team reported.

In a statement, ASIRT reiterated neither officer fired their gun, but noted an autopsy connected the man's wound to the gun recovered from the scene.

Neither officer fired a gun, ASIRT reiterated.

No more details were expected from ASIRT before the end of the investigation.

The victim was 50 years old. His identity has not been released.

According to ASIRT, the firearm found at the scene is "potentially relevant to other open criminal investigations and, as such, is being withheld."