Officers who shot man 4 times inside TTC station will not be charged: SIU

TORONTO – Four police officers who shot a man inside Queen subway station on a Friday night in Dec. 2013 will not be charged, the Special investigations Unit said in a press release Tuesday.

The four officers fired a total of 28 rounds at the suspect, hitting him four times – twice in the torso and twice in the left hand.

The SIU said in the Tuesday press release that one of the reasons police fired so many shots was because the officers thought some of the shooting was coming from the victim. However further investigation revealed the man did not fire any shots.

Tony Loparco, the director of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit said in a statement he’s satisfied there aren’t grounds to charge the officers and that both responding officers and the people on the train with the man thought he had a real gun.

“It became apparent in the aftermath of the incident that the complainant was actually armed with a pellet gun, and not a genuine firearm.  However, that would not have been apparent at the time of the shooting,” Loparco said. “In fact, just the opposite was true.  The subject officers who spoke to the SIU all indicated they honestly believed the gun was a real handgun.

The SIU says the “despondent” 18-year-old man boarded the subway at Finch Subway Station carrying a black pellet gun. They say he was trying to trigger a confrontation with police that would kill him.

When the train stopped at Queen station, the man stood up and ordered everyone off the train, the SIU said.

Police responded within minutes and urged the man to drop his weapon. Instead, he pointed the pellet gun towards the officers and was “immediately met with police gunfire.”

Street protests were held in the days immediately following the shooting questioning the police officer’s use of force.