Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, says it’s investigating after a 29-year-old man was fatally shot by an OPP officer in Collingwood on Wednesday afternoon.
Shorty after 12:30 p.m., the SIU says OPP officers were called to a home on Third Street for a report of a barricaded man.
As officers set up the perimeter around the residence, the man exited the home with a firearm, at which point there was an interaction between the man and officers, according to the SIU.
During the interaction, one officer deployed his Taser, which was ineffective, the SIU adds. The same officer then shot the man with his gun, the SIU says.
The man was subsequently transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The SIU says six investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the case. There’s one subject officer and 10 other officers who are witnesses.
On Wednesday afternoon, OPP Sgt. Jason Folz confirmed in a video statement that the area of Third and Beech streets in Collingwood was closed as police investigated a “critical incident.”
Folz said there was no threat to public safety.
A post-mortem exam is scheduled for the 29-year-old man on Thursday in Toronto.
The SIU is asking anyone who may have information about the investigation to contact the case’s lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529. The agency is also asking anyone with video surveillance of the incident to upload it to the SIU website.