Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, has found that there’s “no reasonable grounds” to believe that an OPP officer committed a criminal offence after a man was fatally shot in Collingwood in September 2020.
The SIU’s director concluded that the officer’s actions were “legally justified” because they were intended in defence of a “threat of imminent death.”
SIU Director Joseph Martino also said the officer’s use of force was “reasonable” since there’s indications that the man was on his feet with a shotgun until the final shot of 11 was discharged by the officer.
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On Sept. 9 at 12:30 p.m., police went to a home on Third Street for a report of a man who had barricaded himself inside a house.
According to the SIU, the man exited the home with a shotgun shortly after police arrived. An officer then “repeatedly” told the man to drop the gun before unsuccessfully using a Tazer on him, the SIU said.
The man pointed the shotgun in the officer’s direction before the officer discharged his firearm at the man, according to the SIU.
The OPP officer discharged 11 rounds, eight of which hit the man, who was later sent to the hospital and pronounced dead, the SIU said.
The man’s cause of death was found to be a result of multiple gunshot wounds.
No charges were laid against the OPP officer and the case file has been closed by the SIU.
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