🚨 RCMP deploys tear gas in a tense Innisfail standoff! Suspect armed with a sharpened hockey stick and feces. Arrest made after ERT steps in. #Innisfail #Olds #Alberta
RCMP Uses Tear Gas to Subdue Violent Assailant in Innisfail
A tense situation in Innisfail escalated this past week when the RCMP was forced to deploy tear gas to arrest a man accused of assaulting police officers with a sharpened hockey stick and throwing human feces at them.
The incident unfolded after the Innisfail RCMP was called to a residence in the town’s downtown area on August 17th. According to RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff, officers were responding to a dispute that had escalated into a physical altercation. The suspect, after reportedly assaulting another individual by punching him, was taken into custody but later released with specific conditions.
However, the situation took a dramatic turn just three days later when the suspect returned to the same property, violating his release conditions. When the RCMP arrived on August 20th, the suspect became increasingly hostile, yelling threats and warning officers that he would attack if they entered the residence.
With tensions high, the RCMP obtained a warrant to enter the property. Despite attempts to negotiate a peaceful surrender, the situation quickly escalated when the suspect armed himself with a sharpened hockey stick and began attacking the officers. He also threw human feces at them in a desperate attempt to avoid arrest.
Faced with an aggressive and dangerous suspect, the officers resorted to using pepper spray and a taser, but these measures proved ineffective. The man then barricaded himself in a bathroom, forcing the RCMP to call in the Emergency Response Team (ERT) for assistance.
The ERT responded by deploying CS gas, a powerful tear gas commonly used in riot control, into the bathroom. This led to the suspect surrendering without further resistance.
The individual, identified as 29-year-old Keenan Joseph Sziva of Innisfail, now faces multiple charges, including assault, breach of release conditions, and four counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon. Following his arrest, Sziva was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in court on August 27th at the Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer.