The ex-husband of a woman fatally shot last month by Calgary police remembers her as a mother who poured all her energy and love into their only son.
Edmonton resident Melanie Hambrook, 53, was killed during a June 21 incident on Deerfoot Trail near Memorial Drive. According to a Calgary Police Service news release, officers were called following multiple reports of an erratic driver.
“She was a wonderful person as a mother,” ex-husband Adam Vaananen, who also lives in Edmonton, said Friday. “She was very giving. She provided anything and everything our son needed, and was very protective of him.”
The family has started an online fundraiser with a goal of raising $9,000 to cover funeral costs. Any extra money will go to their son, said Vaananen.
Vaananen said he and Hambrook, who had known each other for 20 years, kept in contact because of their 16-year-old son, John Vaananen, and they still cared for each other.
“She had a fantastic sense of humour. She loved the ocean. She loved life,” said Vaananen.
Edmonton resident Melanie Hambrook, 53, died after being shot by Calgary police during a June 21 incident on Deerfoot Trail near Memorial Drive. She’s seen here in an older photo with her son, John Vaananen.
Hambrook painted and sculpted, and started a business making customized, personalized jewelry.
But she struggled with her mental well-being, and on June 21 was having a major breakdown due to stresses in her life, said Vaananen. He added Hambrook was not a violent person.
“She was not in control of her actions at that time,” said Vaananen, who had last spoken to his ex-wife the evening of June 19.
Police said the June 21 call initially started downtown, where the driver was believed to be involved in multiple collisions. The vehicle driven by the woman was also seen going the wrong direction on one-way streets and travelling at high speed through red lights.
Officers located the vehicle and were able to bring it to a stop on Deerfoot between Memorial Drive and 16th Avenue N.
“As officers worked to bring the driver into custody, a confrontation occurred, resulting in multiple officers using a variety of use-of-force tools, including one officer discharging their service firearm,” Calgary police Insp. Mike Anderson said during a news conference.
Police later reported the woman had died.
Calgary police work at the scene of an officer-involved shooting on Deerfoot Trail near Memorial Drive in Calgary on June 21, 2026. One person was killed in the incident.
Anderson said the woman had been driving erratically while fleeing from police inside and outside of Calgary over the previous 24 hours.
He said the woman’s “driving issues” began outside the city and indicated she had also been on RCMP’s radar leading up to the incident.
The province’s police watchdog agency, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, later said it was determined the driver was also in possession of a knife.
Vaananen said he believes police could have handled the incident differently.
After not hearing from Hambrook in a day, he contacted RCMP, and Vaananen said he informed police of her history during a brief conversation.
“They should have asked more questions because they treated this incident as a hostile person with clarity who was intent on hurting people,” said Vaananen.
“That was not her intention, and I don’t think they were equipped to handle her mental well-being issues at all.”
ASIRT continues to investigate the incident.
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