CISC - Criminal Intelligence Service Canada

09/12/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/12/2022 11:44

Alberta RCMP officer charged for on-duty incident in Fort Saskatchewan

On June 5, 2021, at 10:49 a.m., Fort Saskatchewan RCMP received a report of a subject squatting at a vacant property and RCMP attended to investigate.

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP arrived at the property and located an adult male who refused to identify himself. The male was placed under arrest for obstruction and the male became combative. Officers deployed Conducted Energy Weapons; however, they were ineffective. An interaction occurred between the male and one of the officers and a number of nearby Community Peace Officers and private citizens came to the aide of the officer. The male was taken into police custody.

Emergency medical services attended the scene to assess the male who was then taken to hospital for assessment and treatment for injuries.

On June 6, 2021, the Director of Law Enforcement was notified and deemed the matter to be "in scope" of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team; however, advised it would remain with the Alberta RCMP to investigate. An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident between the officers and the adult male was conducted.

As a result of that investigation, Constable Justin Forster has been charged with Assault Causing Bodily Harm and is scheduled to appear in Fort Saskatchewan Provincial Court on Sept. 14, 2022.

Cst. Justin Forster has three years of service with the RCMP. Cst. Forster has remained on administrative duties and once the criminal matter has been resolved, his duty status will be reviewed.

The Alberta RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts, and it's important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable. This is why, when we become aware of a situation that required review, we immediately initiate internal processes to look at the totality of the incident, including the actions of the RCMP, the use of force during the incident, and the duty status of the member.

As this matter is now before the courts, the Alberta RCMP are unable to provide further information.