EDMONTON -- The police officer who shot an alleged knife-wielding man outside Abbotsfield Mall last August will not face charges, an independent investigative team concluded yesterday.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response (ASIRT) team -- an independent organization that investigates cases in which civilians are injured or killed by police -- concluded yesterday that its 11-month investigation found nothing to suggest the city police constable who shot 26-year-old Percy Davis committed a crime.

"I've concluded there's no reasonable grounds to believe the Edmonton Police Service constable involved in this incident committed a criminal offence," said Clifton Purvis, ASIRT executive director.

"ASIRT has concluded the actions of the police officer were justified."

On August 8, 2008, police were called to the mall with reports that a man with a large butcher knife was wandering outside.

An officer arrived on scene and attempted to subdue Davis, first by shouting, then with pepper spray, police said.

When that didn't work and Davis reportedly began heading towards the officer -- who wasn't armed with a stun gun -- the constable shot him in the neck and lower abdomen.

He was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital where he recovered, but lost the use of one lung and his right arm.

Davis's father, Glen Davis, said Percy and the officer who pulled the trigger had a history of run-ins and the officer had been trying to build a criminal case against him. Glen had launched a complaint with the police professional standards branch on his son's behalf in September 2007 stemming from past incidents.

"I didn't like him from the beginning, this officer that shot my son," Glen told Sun Media after the shooting.

The case was eventually dropped after Glen and the officer reached some kind of agreement.

Purvis said ASIRT took the allegations into consideration during their investigation.

"The investigation was aware of the allegation, investigated it thoroughly and I'm satisfied ... that allegation had no bearing on the actions of the police officer," he said.

At least 39 witnesses to the shooting were interviewed, along with several officers, contributing to the length of the investigation, he added.

The file was also forwarded to Crown counsel for review.

Police have charged Percy with assault with a weapon and assaulting an officer. He will appear in court in March 2010. Meanwhile, he has launched a $1-million lawsuit against police, claiming he suffered serious injuries, including the loss of a lung, loss of income and a permanent deterioration of his quality of life.

ALYSSA.NOEL@SUNMEDIA.CA