TORONTO — Ontario’s police watchdog found an officer was justified in using lethal force after he fatally shot a 23-year-old man who had allegedly stabbed him in the thigh in Peterborough, Ont. in April.
The Special Investigations Unit said a man was at a Tim Hortons at 157 George St. at about 11:30 p.m. when he was confronted by several young women who believed he had assaulted one of their friends a few nights earlier.
The man then left the coffee shop and walked north on George Street, while the women allegedly followed him and continued to engage him. The SIU said two men in a vehicle, who were friends with the women, became involved in the situation and also began to follow the man.
READ MORE: No charges for OPP officer after 62-year-old man dies in police custody: SIU
That’s when investigators said the man turned towards the women and flashed two large knives, before walking west on Sherbrooke Street.
As he approached Park Place North, the SIU said one of the young women attempted to disarm him. He then “threw her off” and continued walking west away from the women, police said, which is when one of the women called 911.
Not long after the encounter, the man unsuccessfully tried to enter a Sherbrooke Street residence where he rented a room but did not have a key. Investigators said he then walked south through backyards in the neighbourhood and ended up heading east on Wolfe Street, while the two men in the car continued to follow him closely.
READ MORE: SIU clears OPP officers in Lake Huron drowning of 32-year-old woman
- London Drugs remains closed, says it is reviewing billions of lines of data
- 4th youth charged with murder in killing of 16-year-old outside Halifax mall
- Trump trial hears recording discussing hush money scheme: ‘What do we got to pay?’
- Lawsuit claims ex-cop, Mountie lost security clearance over false CSIS reports
A police officer who was parked on the street saw the two men in the car flashing their headlights and the officer recognized the man from a dispatcher’s description and spotted a knife in his hand.
Investigators said the officer then left his cruiser, drew his firearm and shouted at the man to drop the knife. As the man walked past, the officer attempted to pull him to the ground, which is when the SIU said he spun around and stabbed the officer in the thigh.
The officer then fired a single bullet, killing the man. A pathologist determined the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound to the head.
READ MORE: SIU investigating after woman shot in ‘interaction’ with Toronto police
“I am satisfied that the subject officer was justified in using lethal force. He was acting in lawful execution of his duties when he approached the man,” SIU Director Tony Loparco said in a release, adding that the officer had duties to protect public safety by disarming the man and arresting him.
“The officer attempted to accomplish these tasks by verbally demanding that the man stop and drop the knife. When that failed, the officer tried to take the man to the ground by grabbing him. This had grave consequences for both men.”
Loparco said that surveillance footage showed no more than two seconds had passed between when the man stabbed the officer and when he pulled the trigger.
READ MORE: Man dies in hospital after being Tasered twice by Toronto police: SIU
He added that the officer only had “moments to react” given that after he had stabbed he “immediately felt blood pooling in his boot and believed he would lose consciousness soon, at which point he feared the man could continue his assault or move on to attack others in the neighbourhood.”
Loparco said that given the circumstances, the officer had “no other viable option” and that the shooting was “reasonably necessary” and “legally justified.”
“One can speculate whether the night would have ended differently had the man not been followed when he left Tim Hortons,” Loparco said.
“But ultimately, he set in motion a chain of events that led to his death.”
READ MORE: Special Investigations Unit probing death of woman in Huron County
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
Six investigators and three forensic investigators were assigned to probe the circumstances of the shooting. As part of the investigation, 11 civilian witnesses and five witness officers were interviewed. The subject officer also participated in an SIU interview and provided a copy of his duty notes.
The SIU investigation also drew on evidence from police communications recordings and surveillance video from a home in the vicinity of the incident.
Comments