Man who allegedly trafficked firearm used in fatal shooting of Edmonton police constables charged with manslaughter

Edmonton police say the man who allegedly trafficked the firearm used in the fatal shooting of two constables earlier this year is facing manslaughter charges.

Constables Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan were fatally shot in the line of duty while responding to a wellness check March 16.

Police say the 16-year-old who killed Ryan and Jordan was previously known to police. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during the incident, an autopsy later showed, after allegedly having shot his mother.

The gun recovered from the shooting was linked to another shooting at a nearby Pizza Hut four days earlier, during which an employee was shot in the head. He survived but suffered a traumatic brain injury and lost his left eye.

Edmonton police now allege the teenager who killed Ryan and Jordan was the shooter in that incident.

After months of investigating by the EPS Firearms Investigations Unit (FIU), police say the firearm used in those shootings was trafficked by 19-year-old Dennis Okeymow.

“If you put yourself in that situation and you sell a gun illegally, you ought to know what could happen,” Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart, with the police guns and gang unit, said Wednesday.

“This is one of those outcomes that is tragic.”

Police say they conducted search warrants on Okeymow’s home, vehicles and cell phone last Thursday. He was arrested “without incident.”

EPS says during the arrest, officers seized a stolen loaded handgun, ammunition, illegal drugs, $10,000 in cash and other items indicative of drug trafficking.

The suspect is being charged with three counts of manslaughter and three counts of criminal negligence causing death in relation to the shooting of constables Ryan and Jordan, and the teenage shooter.

“A 16-year-old should never have been able to get his hands on a gun, and it’s heartbreaking that the trafficking of this rifle to this youth has led to multiple deaths and life-altering injuries,” Stewart said.

Gun purchased legally in Edmonton

Manslaughter charges in a firearm trafficking case are unique, Stewart said, and police obtained good evidence to support them. He said the charges were not laid just because officers were victims.

The firearm was lawfully purchased in Edmonton at some point, Stewart said. Police are still investigating the firearm’s subsequent movements, but Stewart said investigators have a pretty good idea how it ended up in Okeymow’s possession.

Okeymow is also being charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm in relation to the Pizza Hut shooting and the shooting of the teenager’s mother.

He is also facing firearms trafficking and drug trafficking related charges.

FIU says the RCMP, Calgary police and ALERT assisted with the investigation.

A regimental funeral held for Ryan and Jordan was attended by thousands of officers from across Canada and the United States.

Ryan, 30, a former paramedic, lived just west of Edmonton in Spruce Grove. Family said he was expecting his first child with his wife.

Jordan, 35, who grew up in Nova Scotia, was remembered as a kind officer who went above and beyond in his job.

–With files from The Canadian Press