Former Alberta Mountie charged with aggravated assault in 2019 shooting

A former central Alberta RCMP officer is facing a serious criminal charge six years after he shot a man in the cheek.

The province's police watchdog announced Tuesday that Geordie Erickson, 58, has been charged with aggravated assault for a shooting in Eckville, Alta. — about 45 kilometres west of Red Deer — on the morning of April 6, 2019.

Erickson was a general duty investigator with the Sylvan Lake RCMP detachment, and he retired in 2022, according to an RCMP spokesperson. Sylvan Lake, Alta., is roughly 25 kilometres east of Eckville.

This is the sixth case so far this year of criminal charges being laid against Alberta police officers following an ASIRT probe.

When ASIRT began investigating the Eckville shooting in 2019, the agency said the officer involved was looking into a possible location of stolen oilfield property, behind a strip of businesses on the north side of town.

According to a statement at the time, the officer — now identified as Erickson — found four vehicles, including a truck with a man sleeping inside.

Erickson reportedly checked the truck's licence plate number and found that it was registered to a different vehicle, so he laid a spike belt and called for more officers to come help.

While he was waiting, there was a "confrontation" that led to the officer shooting the man, ASIRT said.

The man was taken to hospital, seriously injured. The truck and licence plate in question were later both confirmed to have been stolen.

Aggravated assault is the most serious form of an assault charge and can lead to a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.

Erickson has been released from custody, and he's scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on Aug. 28.