Mounties charged in shooting found not guilty of manslaughter, aggravated assault

Two Mounties on trial in the death of an Alberta man have been found not guilty of manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Two Mounties on trial in the death of an Alberta man have been found not guilty of manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Const. Jessica Brown and Cpl. Randy Stenger were charged after the 2018 shooting of Clayton Crawford near Whitecourt, northwest of Edmonton.

A jury heard that the two officers shot Crawford 10 times.

Whitecourt RCMP had been notified of the sighting of a purple pickup truck at a rest stop that was seen fleeing a shooting the day before in the hamlet of Valhalla Centre.

Confusion as to whether the driver of the truck was a suspect in the shooting or the intended target came up numerous times during the trial.

Stenger and Brown testified that they fired at Crawford when he tried to flee from the rest stop after they approached him.

Lawyers for the officers argued that their clients acted in self-defence, while the prosecution said the case is about failing to do basic police work.