Cpl. Randy Stenger, left, and Const. Jessica Brown, return to court to resume their jury trial on charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault in Edmonton on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
EDMONTON – A second Mountie on trial in the killing of a man at a rest stop has acknowledged that more information was needed before he and his team approached a pickup truck that he assumed had a shooting suspect inside.
RCMP Cpl. Randy Stenger and his colleague Const. Jessica Brown have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault in the fatal shooting of Clayton Crawford on July 3, 2018, near Whitecourt, Alta., 200 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
A jury heard that RCMP were looking for a purple pickup that was spotted fleeing the scene of a shooting a day earlier in Valhalla Centre, a hamlet over 500 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
Court has heard that Stenger, Brown and another officer approached the vehicle at the Chickadee Creek rest stop, where there was a struggle between the officers and Crawford.
The jury heard 11 shots were fired by Stenger and Brown, 10 of which hit Crawford.
The Crown has wrapped up its cross-examination of Brown, who earlier testified she feared for her life, thinking Crawford may have had a gun or could have hit her or her colleagues with his vehicle.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2022.
