A man who shot at West Vancouver police officers while intoxicated has been sentenced to three years and 132 days in prison, following a ruling in the Provincial Court of British Columbia.
Siavash Ahmadi, 39, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including reckless discharge of a firearm, possession of loaded restricted firearms, and impaired operation of a vehicle. He was sentenced on February 18, 2025, by Judge M. Jetté.
A Night of Escalation
The case stemmed from an incident in the early morning hours of June 26, 2023. Ahmadi, under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs, was driving in West Vancouver when he damaged the left front tire of his vehicle. Despite this, he continued driving on the rim until stopping on a freeway off-ramp.
A tow truck driver who arrived to assist noticed signs of impairment and called 911. Three RCMP officers responded to the scene and began an impaired driving investigation. During the interaction, Ahmadi retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and concealed it in the waistband of his pants. When officers asked him to step toward a police vehicle, he hesitated, then produced the firearm and fired two shots in the direction of two officers. A senior officer returned fire, but no one was hit.
The situation ended when a third officer, who had been approaching in a police SUV, accelerated and struck Ahmadi, knocking him to the ground. His firearm was later recovered nearby.
Weapons found at home
A search of Ahmadi’s vehicle uncovered two additional loaded handguns and a semi-automatic rifle. Investigators later searched his home, where they found numerous firearms, including restricted and non-restricted weapons, many of which were improperly stored.
Ahmadi, a licensed gun owner, did not have the necessary permits to transport the restricted firearms found in his vehicle. His personal struggles were a significant factor in the case. The court heard that he had been dealing with depression and anxiety, worsened by alcohol and prescription drug use. His mental health declined after the loss of a close friend in 2020 and the collapse of his marriage in 2023. He was also under investigation for alleged misconduct as a mortgage broker.
“Pure luck nobody was injured or killed”
The Crown sought a seven-year global sentence, while the defence argued for a conditional sentence with strict conditions.
Judge Jetté acknowledged the seriousness of Ahmadi’s actions, calling it “pure luck that nobody was injured or killed.” However, the judge also considered mitigating factors, including Ahmadi’s lack of a prior criminal record, his guilty plea, and his efforts toward rehabilitation.
Medical reports presented in court supported the claim that his mental health issues contributed to the incident, with experts citing a combination of depression, PTSD, and substance abuse as key factors. While the court initially considered a seven-year sentence, the principle of totality was applied, reducing the term to four years. Ahmadi received credit for time served in pretrial custody, bringing his remaining sentence to three years and 132 days.
Alongside his prison sentence, Ahmadi received a lifetime firearms prohibition, a two-year driving ban, a mandatory DNA order, forfeiture of all firearms seized during the investigation, and a $1,000 fine for the impaired driving charge. Ahmadi will serve his sentence in a federal penitentiary.
Dear Mr. Ahmadi seems to have been on the edge of a crisis since a number of years.
Where was he able to purchase these firearms? Point Roberts? Doubt that! My ail order? Possibly? From that Vance guy I Texas, possibly?
But, how many people knew of his condition and did not cry “wolf”?
He needs help. He needs a spanking !
His estranged wife didn’t blow a whistle .?
All of this may have yielded death and worse because some people seemingly didn’t care enough to be involved for their
community’s sake.