The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has taken carriage over an investigation after an RCMP officer discharged a firearm during an altercation in Wheatland County on Sunday, February 12, which sent a 37-year-old woman, a Calgary resident to the hospital via STARS air ambulance with gunshot injuries.

According to the police, Airdrie Rural RCMP received a call from Calgary Police Service to assist in locating a vehicle which had been driving erratically.

"An RCMP officer located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled and the pursuit was terminated. A Calgary Police Service helicopter maintained visual contact with the suspect vehicle and advised that it was travelling at high speed, sometimes in the oncoming lanes," a police press release stated.

A tire deflation device was successfully deployed, stopping the suspect vehicle near the intersection of Highway 564 and Range Road 245, in Wheatland County.

The officer attempted to arrest the driver, who was the lone occupant of the car.

"An altercation occurred which resulted in the officer discharging their firearm. The driver, a 37-year-old female resident of Calgary, was transported via STARS to a Calgary hospital with gunshot injuries."

No officers were physically injured during this incident.

"The Alberta RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable. This is why, as soon as we became aware of this incident, we immediately notified the Director of Law Enforcement and initiated our internal review process," the press release concluded.

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