Const. Dan Woodall had no warning before shots were fired
Const. Dan Woodall and Sgt. Jason Harley had no idea they were about to be shot when they went to a west Edmonton home to serve an arrest warrant last night, in an incident that cost Woodall his life.
“They went to the door to effect an arrest,” Maurice Brodeur, Edmonton Police Association president, told CBC News on Tuesday morning. “They had a warrant and suddenly shots rang out through the door. There was no warning.”
Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht is expected to provide the latest information on the shooting when he addresses a news conference starting at 8:30 a.m. MT.
Police are always vulnerable when knocking on doors, Brodeur said, adding that “99.9 per cent nothing happens, but this one time, it just went all bad.”
Brodeur said Woodall’s partner, who was also at the scene, is “completely shook up.”
Firefighters and police officers were still at the scene Tuesday morning following the shooting the night before. The house burned to the ground. (Lydia Neufeld/CBC)
“He’s just overcome by guilt and anger over the whole situation, guilt that somehow he could have done something to help.
“I know for a fact there’s nothing he could have done,” said Brodeur. “It was just one of those tragic incidences that no one can really plan for.
“It’s not different than the many many doors you knock on to investigate.”
Woodall, 35, had been with EPS for eight years, after being recruited from Great Britain, where he served with the Greater Manchester Police.
He was shot several times.
Harley, 38, was shot in the back, but the round was stopped by his vest. He was treated and released from hospital.
The officers were members of the Edmonton Police Hate Crimes Unit and were attempting to arrest a suspect for criminal harassment. Knecht confirmed that the arrest was related to a hate-crimes matter.
The home at the centre of the shootout was subsequently engulfed in flames.
It’s believed the suspect is dead.
Police Const. Daniel Woodall slain in Edmonton2:11
