SIU clears officer in fatal shooting during standoff in Coll

When police officers are involved in incidents where someone has been seriously injured, dies or alleges sexual assault, the Special Investigations Unit has the statutory mandate to conduct independent investigations to determine whether a criminal offence took place.

SIU clears officer in fatal shooting during standoff in Coll

Postby Thomas » Tue Sep 21, 2021 10:37 am

SIU clears officer in fatal shooting during standoff in Collingwood

The province’s Special Investigations Unit has cleared an Ontario Provincial Police officer in the shooting death of a 29-year-old Collingwood man.

The shooting occurred during an armed standoff between the man and police on Sept. 9, 2020.

SIU director Joseph Martino found during the investigation no reasonable grounds to believe that an OPP officer committed a criminal offence, a media release said.

At 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2020, OPP officers responded to a home on Third Street in Collingwood following a report of a man in distress who had barricaded himself inside a residence, accordiing to the SIU.

Shortly after police arrived, the man exited the residence with a shotgun.

The SIU release said an officer repeatedly instructed the man to drop the gun and deployed a conducted energy weapon with no success. The man then pointed the shotgun in the officer’s direction before the officer discharged his firearm at the man.

The officer discharged 11 rounds, eight of which struck the man.

Officers administered first aid before paramedics took over. The man was transported to a hospital in Collingwood and pronounced deceased at 1:26 p.m.

Martino concluded that the officer acted to thwart a threat of imminent death to himself and others, the release said.

Martino also found that the officer’s use of force was reasonable in the circumstances as indications were the man was on his feet with a shotgun in hand until the final shot was discharged.

“In conclusion, there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges and the file has been closed,” the release said.

The SIU was notified of the shooting at 2 p.m., Sept. 9, 2020. Five SIU investigators and four SIU forensic investigators were assigned to the case.

SIU investigators interviewed civilian and police witnesses, canvassed for additional witnesses, and searched for closed-circuit television (CCTV) data in the area where the incident occurred, according to the director’s report.

The director’s report said CCTV data was obtained from an address on Third Street, but unable to “distil from the data any images having prospective probative value”.

Twenty-one civilian witnesses were interviewed. Ten police officer witnesses were interviewed. One police officer witness was not interviewed, but their notes were reviewed.

The director’s report said a single-shot Cooey Model 84 shotgun was found on the sidewalk along with one viable shotgun shell. Also found at the scene was one CEW wire with a probe attached to it, and 11 empty .223 calibre cartridges.

Investigators searched the scene for projectile strikes and found one located on the roadway at a curb and one located on a fence near the outer edge of a residential property.

According to 911 call recordings, the police had previously dealt with the 29-year-old man regarding a domestic situation. After the police left, the man harmed himself with broken glass and put a cord around his neck. The man left the Third Street home and stayed at his mother’s house for the night.

On the day of the shooting, a 911 caller said the man had been drinking and wanted to end his life, though he had not harmed himself. The man had returned to the Third Street home and locked himself in his room.

The investigation revealed some evidence the man wanted “death by cop”, according to the SIU director’s report.

Testing on the man’s shotgun revealed it functioned correctly.

The SIU director said in the report he was unable to reasonably conclude the officer acted excessively with respect to the number of shots he fired – 11 in total. The officer explained that he fired his weapon until the man fell to the ground and was no longer a threat.

The SIU is an independent civilian agency that investigates when there are reports of police involvement in deaths, serious injury or sexual assault, to decide whether to lay criminal charges against the officer.

https://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/news/ ... ollingwood
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