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Judge rules in favour of police who shot and killed Fort McMurray man

Police were only doing their job when they shot and killed an armed Fort McMurray man. Provincial Court Judge Jim Jacques made the ruling in a Public Fatality Inquiry.

Court documents say Ahmad Abdallah, 24, was a guest in an apartment suite on 10126 MacDonald Avenue when he got into an argument with two others and pulled out a gun. Abdallah fired the pistol twice into the floor while a woman inside the apartment called 911 from the bathroom.

Wood Buffalo RCMP arrived at the building within minutes. They were originally called for a firearms complaint, but a dispatcher later told them shots had been fired. One officer grabbed a shotgun, while four other members carried 9 mm pistols. Police broke the glass door to the building and spotted Abdallah and made their way down a hallway.

“There was a short wall projecting into the hallway that created a blind corner which partially blocked Cst. Marshall’s view down the hall. As he passed the wall, Cst. Marshall noticed Mr. Abdallah in the corner, holding a beer in his left hand. Almost immediately, Mr. Abdallah raised a pistol and fired at Cst. Marshall. Cst. Marshall returned fire with his shotgun, discharging one shell which struck Mr. Abdullah on the left side,” writes Justice Jacques in the report.

One of the bullets seriously injured Const. Curnew when it entered her left buttock and exited her right thigh. She continued to aim, and fired one shot that hit Abdallah at the back of the chest.

“Both the shotgun wound and the pistol wound would have been rapidly fatal to Mr. Abdallah. Although the officer was not aware of it at the time, one of Mr. Abdallah’s bullets struck and was stopped by Cst. Marshall’s radio. Were it not for the presence of the radio, it appears likely that Cst. Marshall would also have been struck by a bullet,” says Jacques in the report.

Toxicology results from an autopsy indicated a Abdullah had a 8 mg/100 ml concentration of alcohol in his system. It also found high levels of methamphetamine in his blood and liver.

“In my view, the officers involved in this incident did precisely what they should have done under the circumstances. They responded promptly, intelligently and bravely to a potentially life-threatening situation. It is not unlikely that Cst. Marshall and Cst. Curnew saved not only their own lives, but those of their fellow officers by reacting rapidly and accurately to a deadly threat,” states Jacques.

He made no recommendations in the report.