Mother of man shot by officer wants independent investigation

The mother of a man who was shot six times by an Edmonton police officer is calling for an independent investigation.

Kirk Steele, 33, was shot by an officer on July 27 after he allegedly stabbed a police dog named Wizzard several times during a pursuit. Steele is in critical condition in hospital.

His mother, Daphne Steele, said Tuesday he was running because he had violated parole conditions that required him to be at a halfway house.

"I can't believe that anybody out there would think it was right to shoot him six times and leave him now fighting for his life in the hospital. But I don't hate the police force and I don't hate the officer that shot him," she said. "I hate what he did to my son."

Last week, Edmonton police spokeswoman Karen Carlson said the police officer drew his gun because of the potentialdanger to the public.

"Under the circumstances and the information we have at this time, this type of action was warranted, absolutely."

No charges have been laid against Steele and the investigation continues.

'Loving and kind'

Daphne Steele flipped through photos Tuesday of her son, Kirk, lying in a hospital bed. He is unconscious, on life support and has tubes running through his nose and mouth.

Police shot him six times twice in the abdomen, twice in the arms, once in his back and once in his buttocks.

Steele says she can't comprehend why police shot her son so many times.

"You know, he doesn't always listen, but he's kind, loving," she said.

Investigation requested

On Tuesday, her lawyer, Tom Engel, fired off letters to Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko requesting an independent investigation.

Cenaiko's office said the RCMP have already been called in to assist and review the case.

But Engel said the investigation should be entirely removed from the hands of the Edmonton Police Service.

Harvey is "failing to discharge his public duty to ensure that these investigations are conducted in an independent fashion," Engel said.

Steele said she's disappointed the solicitor general won't hand over the investigation to an outside source. Now, she said, all she can do is continue to pray for her son's life, so he can live to see justice prevail.

"I leave everything in God's hands. He will take care of it," she said.

Four men seen with weapons

The incident began at about 1:30 a.m. local time on July 27 when officers spotted four men getting out of a car at 99 Street and 69 Avenue.

Last week, Carlson said the men, who were accompanied by a pit bull and allegedly armed with weapons, including baseball bats and batons, were heading to a house known to police when the officers intercepted them.

The officers grabbed two of the men, and then went into the house to check on the people inside. At that point, a man armed with a knife fled through a bathroom window.

When officers confronted the man, Carlson said, he refused to drop the knife.

"He proceeded to run and then the police service dog was deployed. As the police service dog approached the subject, he slowed, turned around and aggressively began stabbing our police dog," Carlson said.

"Given those circumstances, the officer's only choice at that time was to pull his weapon, resulting in shots being fired and the suspect being hit."