RCMP officer cleared in shooting

An independent investigation has cleared an RCMP officer in the fatal shooting of a man on the Driftpile First Nation last fall. Bernard Emery Giroux, 37, died after being shot outside his house Nov. 19 when he aimed a loaded hunting rifle at officers. The investigation was undertaken by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team and took 11 months. It concluded the officer who shot Giroux “was justified in firing his weapon and was acting lawfully.” The officer shot twice, hitting Giroux once and killing him. Giroux had barricaded himself in his house for almost 12 hours before he came out with a hunting rifle pointed at the police.