The reported theft of a taxi and the discharge of a firearm by an OPP officer in Aylmer, Ont., has provoked the province’s police watchdog to launch an investigation.
According to police, officers located a taxi that had been reported missing on Highway 3, near Rogers Road, in Malahide at approximately 3 a.m. on Wednesday.
As police followed the suspect vehicle, OPP say the driver later exited the taxi and fled on foot.
Shortly after, police say an altercation broke out between the responding officers and an 18-year-old man. One officer deployed a stun gun, while another discharged her firearm.
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The suspect was not struck by the discharged firearm and was later arrested.
Following the incident, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was contacted and has since invoked its mandate.
The SIU said three investigators and one forensic investigator have been assigned to the case.
“At this time, one subject official and three witness officials have been designated,” the SIU wrote in a statement. “Even in cases of no serious injury or death, the Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019 dictates that the discharge of a firearm by an officer falls within the jurisdiction of the SIU.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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