WHITEHORSE, YT – A Coroner’s Inquest into the shooting death of Hugh Errol Riffel during a police response at an Air North facility near the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport on November 24th, 2022 will begin on October 6th this year.
As Riffel had died while RCMP attempted to bring him into custody, The Yukon Coroner’s Service says a Corner’s Inquest must be held to determine the facts and circumstances of what happened, and to reassure the public that the matter will not be overlooked or concealed.
The RCMP had previously withheld Riffel’s identity at the request of family, but did confirm in a briefing following the incident that he was a resident of Alberta and a former employee of Air North.
On the day of the shooting, Riffel had entered a secure Air North compound armed with a rifle and proceeded to threaten employees. A responding RCMP officer had shot Riffel twice after he refused and order to drop his weapon and continued to walk towards Police after the order was given. Immediate emergency first aid was attempted, but Riffel did not survive.
An investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team had ruled the officer involved was justified in their actions.
