Edmonton police investigate after officer kills robbery suspect

Edmonton police have launched an investigation after an officer shot a robbery suspect who later died of his injuries Sunday.

According to a written statement by the Edmonton Police Service, two officers responded to a report of someone being robbed at 102nd Street and 107th Avenue at about 2 a.m.

When the officers confronted the suspect, he tried to grab an officer's gun, police said.

Rita Desjarlais, an acquaintance of the suspect who watched the scene from her apartment window, said she heard a female officer telling the man to put his hands up. Then the officer shot at him twice.

"They put him to the ground, they cuffed him and she [the officer] was stepping on his head," Desjarlais said.

"Then the male cop checked his breathing, [the female officer] uncuffed him and he started CPR right away."

Shot in hip and chest

The 36-year-old man was later pronounced dead in hospital. He was shot once in the hip and once in the chest.

Desjarlais said she didn't know the man well, but he was always nice to her. She doesn't believe the police should have shot him.

"To me, they did wrong. They had no reason to do that ... there was no need for him to be shot like that," she said.

"He had his hands in the air. Why did she shoot him? That's what gets me."

The man's name has not been released.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating, as it routinely does in such cases, to ensure officers followed proper procedures.