Whitehorse RCMP officer fired weapon in confrontation with armed man, investigators say

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has released more details about a shooting incident involving RCMP in Whitehorse's Porter Creek neighbourhood on Monday.

In a news release on Tuesday, ASIRT said an officer fired a single shot from a service weapon during a confrontation with an armed 54-year-old man. Nobody was hurt.

ASIRT is now investigating the RCMP officer's actions.

The confrontation began after police responded to a call at around noon Monday, reporting a man with a firearm in the Pine Street area of Porter Creek.

According to ASIRT, RCMP found the man sitting alone in a Ford truck in front of a residence. 

That's when "a confrontation occurred," according to ASIRT's new release, and an officer fired a weapon. The man in the truck was not injured by the shot and was arrested "without further incident."

.44-calibre rifle recovered

A .44-calibre rifle was later recovered from the truck. 

Under an agreement between Yukon and Alberta, ASIRT is called in to investigate serious incidents involving Yukon RCMP. It's now focused on the actions of police during the incident.

"ASIRT's mandate is to effectively, independently and objectively investigate incidents involving police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, which is interpreted to include incidents where officers may have fired upon a person," the Tuesday news release reads.

Yukon RCMP are still responsible for investigating the initial complaint and the actions of the man in the truck. 

ASIRT is asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident in Porter Creek, or has photos or video, to call 403-592-4306.

The organization says no other information will be released while its investigation is happening.