SIU clears police in shooting after man tried to light officers on fire
Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2025 6:45 am
The province's police investigators have cleared Collingwood OPP in a shooting incident on Rhonda Road in May, through their investigation determining that the victim had attempted to set officers on fire.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released its report on the incident Sept. 18, determining the officer who shot and injured 50-year-old Ronald Mitchell during the incident did not commit a criminal offence in connection to the incident.
According to the SIU report, the first police officer to arrive approached the home, at which time Mitchell tossed an incendiary device toward her and then fired a flare gun attempting to ignite the flammable substance in the device.
“On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the (officer) committed a criminal offence in connection with the shooting,” SIU director Joseph Martino wrote in his report.
The report includes a chronology of events that transpired that day.
On May 21, police were called to a cul-de-sac on Rhonda Road around 5 p.m. in response to a 911 call about a disturbance at a home on the street.
Four civilian witnesses were interviewed, as well as Mitchell, in compiling the report. The body-camera footage from the officers on the scene was also examined, as well as video from the OPP cruiser, and the 911 call from that evening.
“(Mitchell) was said to have consumed drugs and alcohol, and be in possession of a flare gun, a knife and mason jars of gasoline,” according to Martino’s summary of the 911 call.
According to the video and the report, the officers walked up the driveway and into the backyard of the home on May 21, calling Mitchell’s name.
Mitchell, referred to as 'the complainant' in the report, emerged from a shed in the backyard and told the officers to back up repeatedly.
“The (officer) tried to talk to him and reminded him she had been at the property over the weekend,” reads the report. “The complainant held a bottle in front of his chest. He said, ‘It ain’t gonna end good,’ then he disappeared into the shed for three seconds.”
The video shows Mitchell emerged from the shed and pointed a flare gun at the officers. The officers stepped back.
“The complainant said, ‘That’s right, get the fuck out of here.’ The (officer) told him to ‘drop it,’” wrote Martino.
At this point, the officers pointed their guns at Mitchell. One officer pointed their stun gun at Mitchell.
“The complainant raised a glass bottle over his right shoulder. He told the officers to shoot him multiple times,” wrote Martino.
Mitchell then threw the glass bottle at the ground in front of one of the officers, and then fired the flare gun to the left of one of the officer’s feet. The flare caused the bushes adjacent to the residence to burst into flames.
One officer discharged her firearm four times as Mitchell retreated into the shed, states the report.
Seconds later, Mitchell came out of the shed and squatted in the doorway, insisting he was on the ground. He then walked to a chair nearby and sat down, eventually lowering himself to the ground.
“There was blood stained on the back of his shirt,” wrote Martino, noting Mitchell had sustained gunshot wounds to the lower torso. “The fire spread to some nearby wooden boards, which laid across the ground. (One officer) stomped on the flames to put them out. He used a nearby tarp to smother the flames.”
“Officers performed first-aid on the complainant pending the arrival of firefighters and paramedics,” he wrote.
Mitchell was taken to hospital in an ambulance.
The officer involved in the shooting’s uniform, body armour, boots and duty belt were placed in bags and sealed to preserve evidence of a potential accelerant, says the report. All of the equipment was examined and photographed by the SIU. The officer’s uniform and boots tested positive for gasoline.
Martino concluded that the evidence showed the officer fired her semi-automatic pistol to protect herself and three other officers from a reasonably apprehended attack at the hands of the man.
“The man had pointed a flare gun – itself capable of causing serious injury and death – directly at the officers at close range, and had fired it at the ground in what would have appeared a deliberate attempt to set the officers on fire,” wrote Martino.
The SIU investigates all instances where someone is injured, killed or sexually assaulted while interacting with police or in police custody.
According to a news release from the Collingwood OPP at that time, Mitchell faces a list of charges related to the May 21 incident, including two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon or causing bodily harm, and one count each of pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief endangering life.
The SIU reports that Mitchell was known to police, and that police had attended the home less than a week prior to the incident.
https://www.orilliamatters.com/police-b ... g-11234939
https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/police- ... g-11234821
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released its report on the incident Sept. 18, determining the officer who shot and injured 50-year-old Ronald Mitchell during the incident did not commit a criminal offence in connection to the incident.
According to the SIU report, the first police officer to arrive approached the home, at which time Mitchell tossed an incendiary device toward her and then fired a flare gun attempting to ignite the flammable substance in the device.
“On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the (officer) committed a criminal offence in connection with the shooting,” SIU director Joseph Martino wrote in his report.
The report includes a chronology of events that transpired that day.
On May 21, police were called to a cul-de-sac on Rhonda Road around 5 p.m. in response to a 911 call about a disturbance at a home on the street.
Four civilian witnesses were interviewed, as well as Mitchell, in compiling the report. The body-camera footage from the officers on the scene was also examined, as well as video from the OPP cruiser, and the 911 call from that evening.
“(Mitchell) was said to have consumed drugs and alcohol, and be in possession of a flare gun, a knife and mason jars of gasoline,” according to Martino’s summary of the 911 call.
According to the video and the report, the officers walked up the driveway and into the backyard of the home on May 21, calling Mitchell’s name.
Mitchell, referred to as 'the complainant' in the report, emerged from a shed in the backyard and told the officers to back up repeatedly.
“The (officer) tried to talk to him and reminded him she had been at the property over the weekend,” reads the report. “The complainant held a bottle in front of his chest. He said, ‘It ain’t gonna end good,’ then he disappeared into the shed for three seconds.”
The video shows Mitchell emerged from the shed and pointed a flare gun at the officers. The officers stepped back.
“The complainant said, ‘That’s right, get the fuck out of here.’ The (officer) told him to ‘drop it,’” wrote Martino.
At this point, the officers pointed their guns at Mitchell. One officer pointed their stun gun at Mitchell.
“The complainant raised a glass bottle over his right shoulder. He told the officers to shoot him multiple times,” wrote Martino.
Mitchell then threw the glass bottle at the ground in front of one of the officers, and then fired the flare gun to the left of one of the officer’s feet. The flare caused the bushes adjacent to the residence to burst into flames.
One officer discharged her firearm four times as Mitchell retreated into the shed, states the report.
Seconds later, Mitchell came out of the shed and squatted in the doorway, insisting he was on the ground. He then walked to a chair nearby and sat down, eventually lowering himself to the ground.
“There was blood stained on the back of his shirt,” wrote Martino, noting Mitchell had sustained gunshot wounds to the lower torso. “The fire spread to some nearby wooden boards, which laid across the ground. (One officer) stomped on the flames to put them out. He used a nearby tarp to smother the flames.”
“Officers performed first-aid on the complainant pending the arrival of firefighters and paramedics,” he wrote.
Mitchell was taken to hospital in an ambulance.
The officer involved in the shooting’s uniform, body armour, boots and duty belt were placed in bags and sealed to preserve evidence of a potential accelerant, says the report. All of the equipment was examined and photographed by the SIU. The officer’s uniform and boots tested positive for gasoline.
Martino concluded that the evidence showed the officer fired her semi-automatic pistol to protect herself and three other officers from a reasonably apprehended attack at the hands of the man.
“The man had pointed a flare gun – itself capable of causing serious injury and death – directly at the officers at close range, and had fired it at the ground in what would have appeared a deliberate attempt to set the officers on fire,” wrote Martino.
The SIU investigates all instances where someone is injured, killed or sexually assaulted while interacting with police or in police custody.
According to a news release from the Collingwood OPP at that time, Mitchell faces a list of charges related to the May 21 incident, including two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon or causing bodily harm, and one count each of pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief endangering life.
The SIU reports that Mitchell was known to police, and that police had attended the home less than a week prior to the incident.
https://www.orilliamatters.com/police-b ... g-11234939
https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/police- ... g-11234821