Calgary Police Officer Hearing Begins in Shooting Deaths

Officer's Hearing Begins in Calgary Shooting Deaths

A Calgary police officer charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the 2023 shooting deaths of two men made his first court appearance Monday as his preliminary hearing began. Const. Craig Stothard's case involves a slow-speed pursuit in northeast Calgary that ended with gunfire near St. George's Drive. The evidence heard so far is covered by a publication ban, leaving the public with limited detail about the testimony presented to the court.

Tags: Calgary police officer, Craig Stothard, second-degree murder, preliminary hearing, ASIRT, Levon Fox, Wesley Davidson, Lena Wildman, Doug King, Alberta Court of Justice, publication ban, Calgary Police Service, fatal shooting, Mayland Heights, Memorial Drive

The Story

Calgary, Alta. – Aug. 10, 2026 — The preliminary inquiry into the charges against Const. Craig Stothard got underway Monday before an Alberta Court of Justice judge brought in from Medicine Hat to avoid a conflict of interest. Justice Mark Mastel is presiding over the hearing, which is scheduled to run for up to 10 days.

Stothard, a 52-year-old member of the Calgary Police Service, was charged last summer with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Levon Fox, 39, and Wesley Davidson, 46. The charges stem from the morning of May 29, 2023, when Stothard and other officers were involved in a slow-speed pursuit of a five-tonne cube van through northeast Calgary. The pursuit culminated in a shooting near St. George's Drive that killed both men.

Stothard was relieved from duty with pay in September 2025, according to Calgary police. He was granted bail shortly after the charges were announced in July 2025, and he has not entered a plea. Under the Criminal Code, a preliminary hearing is meant to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to send the case to trial. The judge will decide that question after hearing from Crown prosecutor Jeff Rudiak, defence lawyer Don MacLeod, and whatever witnesses are called over the next two weeks.

Charges of second-degree murder against an on-duty police officer are rare in Canada. Police officers may use force when it is reasonably necessary in the execution of their duties, but the Criminal Code requires that such force be proportionate to the threat posed. When an officer is charged, the case typically draws intense scrutiny from both the public and the legal community, and this one has been no exception.

The 2023 Shooting

The events that led to the charges began early on May 29, 2023, when a security guard in Mayland Heights, a community in northeast Calgary, called police about three suspicious people on private property. The individuals fled in a five-tonne cube van, and subsequent calls reported the van being driven erratically throughout northeast Calgary in a manner dangerous to the public.

After locating the van, police officers began following it at slow speed along Memorial Drive, a major artery that cuts across the city. Several roads were blocked off to prevent the van from entering residential neighbourhoods or the busy downtown core. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle near St. George's Drive, but the van was able to break containment and continued moving towards officers.

At approximately 11 a.m., with the situation described by police as rapidly changing, one officer — a 13-year member of the Calgary Police Service — discharged a Service firearm. Levon Fox and Wesley Davidson were struck and killed. Fox's brother, who was also in the van, survived the shooting.

The slow-speed nature of the pursuit, which was described by police at the time, meant the van remained in traffic for an extended period before the confrontation near St. George's Drive. The precise circumstances of the shooting are at the centre of the case, and much of the evidence now cannot be reported publicly because of the publication ban.

The ASIRT Investigation

ASIRT, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, began its investigation immediately after the shooting. Investigators examined body-worn camera footage from officers on the scene, video from the Calgary Police Service helicopter, and footage captured by members of the public who witnessed the pursuit or its aftermath. The agency also gathered statements from witnesses and forensic evidence from the scene.

The investigation took more than two years to complete. At the end of that process, ASIRT recommended charges be laid, and on July 14, 2025, the charges against Stothard were formally announced: two counts of second-degree murder, one for each man killed. The decision to proceed with the charges rests with prosecutors, and Crown prosecutor Jeff Rudiak is handling the matter for the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service.

Stothard's defence team has been led by Don MacLeod, a well-known Calgary criminal defence lawyer. MacLeod has not commented publicly on the specifics of the case, and the publication ban restricts what lawyers are able to say outside the courtroom.

Body-worn cameras have become increasingly common in Canadian policing, and their use can provide crucial evidence in officer-involved shootings. In this case, the footage, along with helicopter video and bystander recordings, offered investigators a more complete picture than witness testimony alone. That evidence will now be tested during the preliminary inquiry.

A Family's Grief

Lena Wildman, the mother of Levon Fox, was in court Monday for the start of the preliminary hearing. In a brief statement to reporters, she described the ongoing pain of losing her son and questioned the actions of police in the moments before the shooting. "We know there's so many things. That could have been done, different things, the threat assessment especially," Wildman said. "It's so unreal. My son and the other person, they didn't have to die."

Fox was a member of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, a fact that adds a further dimension to the case in Alberta, where Indigenous communities have long pressed for greater police accountability. The shooting of an Indigenous man by police is a particularly sensitive issue in this province, and the broader context of reconciliation and systemic concerns is never far from the surface in cases like this.

The deaths have resonated beyond the families directly affected. Community members and advocates for police accountability have pointed to the case as an example of the need for transparency when officers use force. At the same time, others have cautioned against drawing conclusions before all the evidence is heard. The publications ban means that many details of the shooting, including the officers' accounts of what transpired in the final seconds, cannot be reported, making it difficult for the public to assess the strength of the case.

What the Preliminary Inquiry Means

A preliminary inquiry in Alberta is held in the Alberta Court of Justice, the province's main provincial court for criminal matters. Its purpose is not to determine guilt or innocence, but to decide whether the Crown has enough evidence to commit the accused to trial. Justice Mark Mastel, who normally sits in Medicine Hat, was brought in to preside because Stothard is a Calgary police officer and local judges would otherwise face a potential conflict.

The hearing has been structured to run for up to 10 days, with Crown and defence witnesses to be heard over the next two weeks. At the conclusion, Justice Mastel will issue a decision on whether Stothard should stand trial. If the case proceeds, it would then move to the Court of King's Bench for trial on the merits, since second-degree murder is an indictable offence that must be tried in a superior court.

The publication ban imposed at the outset of the hearing applies to testimony and evidence presented in court. Publication bans are not automatic; they must be requested by one of the parties and granted by the judge. In this case, the ban was imposed to protect Stothard's right to a fair trial. It does not extend to the identities of the accused or the victims, nor does it prohibit reporting on court decisions made in open court.

Doug King, a professor of justice studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said Monday that he expects the case to hinge on the testimony of the other officers who were present during the pursuit. The key question, King said, is "whether or not they were prepared to use their firearms." He noted that the officers' decisions and perceptions in the final moments of the pursuit will be central to the court's assessment of whether the shooting was justified.

Stothard remains on bail, but the conditions of his release have not been publicly disclosed. At an earlier bail hearing in July 2025, lawyers questioned the fairness of same-day bail for police officers in officer-involved shootings, though the court ultimately granted bail. Stothard has been relieved from duty with pay, which means he continues to receive his salary while the criminal process unfolds.

What Happens Next

Over the next two weeks, Justice Mastel will hear from witnesses called by the Crown and the defence. The exact number and identity of those witnesses has not been released because of the publication ban, but the hearing is scheduled to last up to 10 days. Once the evidence is complete, Rudiak and MacLeod will deliver their arguments, and Mastel will decide whether the case should proceed to trial.

At a preliminary inquiry, the Crown must show there is some evidence, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, to justify committing the accused to trial. The threshold is relatively low, which means that most cases are committed. However, in complex cases involving police use of force, judges sometimes find that the evidence does not support a trial, particularly if the officer's actions may have been justified under the Criminal Code's provisions on self-defence or defence of others.

If Stothard is committed to trial, a date would likely be set many months away. If he is not committed, the charges would be stayed and Stothard would be discharged. Either outcome is possible, and the decision will turn on the judge's assessment of the evidence presented.

For the families of Levon Fox and Wesley Davidson, the wait for resolution has already been long. The shooting happened in May 2023, the charges were not laid until July 2025, and the preliminary hearing is only now getting underway in August 2026. For Lena Wildman, the process is a painful reminder of what was lost. As she told reporters Monday, the deaths did not have to happen.

Until then, the publication ban remains in place, and the public is left to wait for the next chapter in this case. The Alberta justice system is built to be patient; for those who lost loved ones, patience is harder to find.

By Alex Thompson, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Reporting is based on sources cited in the article.