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Alberta police watchdog clears officers who fatally shot 15-year-old Indigenous boy
Alberta police watchdog clears officers who fatally shot 15-year-old Indigenous boy
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) on Thursday released its report on the Aug. 30, 2024, death of 15-year-old Hoss Lightning.
By Jonny Wakefield
Published Nov 06, 2025
Last updated 1 hour ago
2 minute read
Supplied photo of Hoss Lightning, a 15-year-old boy fatally shot by Alberta RCMP in Wetaskiwin on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. PHOTO BY DANIELLE NICOL /supplied
Alberta’s police watchdog has found the pair of RCMP officers who fatally shot an Indigenous teenager in Wetaskiwin did not commit a criminal offence.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) on Thursday released its report on the Aug. 30, 2024, death of 15-year-old Hoss Lightning.
In a 27-page report, ASIRT’s acting executive director, Matthew Block, reviewed the evidence and concluded the officers who shot Lightning believed he was pointing a gun at them from inside a backpack.
“While these events are tragic, that does not make them criminal,” Block wrote. “Based on the evidence collected in a comprehensive investigation, the defences available to the subject officers under Sections 25 and 34 of the Criminal Code will apply. There are therefore no reasonable grounds to believe that either subject officer committed a criminal offence.”
{snip}
jwakefield@postmedia.com
x.com/jonnywakefield
@jonnywakefield.bsky.social
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) on Thursday released its report on the Aug. 30, 2024, death of 15-year-old Hoss Lightning.
By Jonny Wakefield
Published Nov 06, 2025
Last updated 1 hour ago
2 minute read
Supplied photo of Hoss Lightning, a 15-year-old boy fatally shot by Alberta RCMP in Wetaskiwin on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. PHOTO BY DANIELLE NICOL /supplied
Alberta’s police watchdog has found the pair of RCMP officers who fatally shot an Indigenous teenager in Wetaskiwin did not commit a criminal offence.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) on Thursday released its report on the Aug. 30, 2024, death of 15-year-old Hoss Lightning.
In a 27-page report, ASIRT’s acting executive director, Matthew Block, reviewed the evidence and concluded the officers who shot Lightning believed he was pointing a gun at them from inside a backpack.
“While these events are tragic, that does not make them criminal,” Block wrote. “Based on the evidence collected in a comprehensive investigation, the defences available to the subject officers under Sections 25 and 34 of the Criminal Code will apply. There are therefore no reasonable grounds to believe that either subject officer committed a criminal offence.”
{snip}
jwakefield@postmedia.com
x.com/jonnywakefield
@jonnywakefield.bsky.social