Ontario’s police watchdog has been called in to investigate an incident in Brantford that involved a man who barricaded himself inside his home for three days.
According to media releases from Brantford Police and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), officers were called to Grey Street shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday where a 37-year-old man, allegedly armed with a machete, approached an ambulance parked on the street and began making threats.
When police arrived, the man apparently retreated into his home but soon came back out armed with a knife and a sword.
The SIU said an officer fired “plastic projectiles” from an Anti-Riot Weapon ENfield (ARWEN) at the man, who reportedly fled back inside the house.
Officers set up a perimeter around the home and blocked off roads into the area for several days while they worked with negotiators and the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team (MCRRT) to resolve the standoff.
Other police services were called in to assist, including the Halton Police Service, Waterloo Regional Police Service, Guelph Police Service, and the Ontario Provincial Police.
The SIU said the man briefly came outside of the house on Tuesday morning but went back inside after a Guelph police officer used the ARWEN on him.
At about 4 p.m. Wednesday, the SIU said there was an “interaction” between the man and police that involved multiple OPP officers discharging their ARWENs.
He was apprehended and transported to hospital for treatment.
The SIU said it’s investigating because the man sustained a “possible serious injury” and because officers used the anti-riot weapons — which are considered firearms under the Special Investigations Unit Act — multiple times throughout the standoff.