No charges will be laid against a Lethbridge Police officer who used a marked vehicle to repeatedly drive over an injured deer until it died.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team was called in to investigate the January 5th incident and has concluded the officer’s conduct was not criminal or unreasonable.
The report says the officer made the correct decision NOT to use a firearm to euthanize the animal with the potential of ricochet and immediate proximity of homes, traffic and the public.
ASIRT investigators also conclude it was not the officer’s intent to cause additional unnecessary suffering, but short of an instantaneous death by firearm, it would occur regardless of the method chosen.
The report goes on to say with respect to the baton, tactical knife and/or tire iron, they would have required the officer to get much closer to the deer, placing the officer’s personal safety at risk as the deer was still fighting.
It concludes that with the benefit of hindsight, it is obvious the decision to kill the deer using the police vehicle was problematic and did not work as the officer had intended but no method is or was perfect and complications or problems occur.