A Calgary police officer is facing two second-degree murder charges stemming from a shooting more than two years ago.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) began investigating on May 29, 2023 after police became involved in a chase on Memorial Drive in northeast Calgary that ended in an officer firing shots at a vehicle.
The incident started about 45 minutes before the shooting on Manning Close NE where, according to police, a driver was operating a large cube van in an erratic manner that was dangerous to the public.
Video recorded by witnesses that day showed the white cube van driving slowly along Memorial while being pursued by several Calgary police vehicles.
The incident escalated on Memorial near Edmonton Trail NE where “rapidly changing dynamics” led to an officer firing shots at the van.
Two of the van occupants were struck and later pronounced dead.
ASIRT says evidence gathered provided reasonable grounds to charge Calgary Police Service (CPS) Const. Craig Stothard with two counts of second-degree murder.
“Following a review of the investigation and having been advised that the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service was of the opinion that the evidence met their standard for prosecution, ASIRT Assistant Executive Director Matthew Block determined that the involved officer should be charged,” reads the release from the watchdog.
‘Rare’ serious charges against officer
Mount Royal University criminal justice professor Doug King says these types of charges against an officer are rarely seen.
“I was just shocked about how rare this is in Canadian law, where a police officer is charged with such serious criminal offences related to something they were doing on the job,” King says.
He says ASIRT is made up of many former police officers who appear to have come to a conclusion that Stothard acted outside of the requirements of what an officer is needed to do.
The watchdog would then make that recommendation to the crown prosecutor who would also judge the evidence, according to King.
“An ASIRT recommendation does not automatically lead to a criminal charges,” he says. “It’s gone through two levels of screening.”
ASIRT investigates any police interaction that results in serious injury, death, or allegations of police misconduct.
Stothard was charged on Monday and appeared in a Calgary courtroom Tuesday before being released on conditions. He is currently on leave from his position, according to CPS.
He had 13 years of service with Calgary police at the time of the shooting.
Statement from Calgary police chief
Calgary’s police chief released a video statement on social media reacting to the charges.
Chief Katie McLellan says she recognizes that the serious charges can have an impact on the trust people have in police.
“Every day CPS strives to work collaboratively and in partnership with all our local communities, especially Indigenous communities,” she says. “This news today does not change the fact that we are committed to providing equitable and culturally respectful policing services and embracing Indigenous worldviews.”
McLellan says she will not be commenting further since the matter is before the courts.
Victims’ family relieved to see charges
The two victims in the case were identified by media after the shooting as Wesley Davidson, 46, and Levon Boyce Fox, 39. A third person in the van was uninjured and taken into custody.
Fox’s family said in a statement Tuesday that they were relieved to see charges laid after “two years of grief, questions and personal suffering” from what they described as an act of police brutality.
The statement also identifies the third person who was in the van as Fox’s brother Dennis Wildman, who the family said has been suffering mentally after living through the shooting.
“The family will continue to see this process through to the end as we seek justice now through court proceedings,” the statement says.
With files from The Canadian Press