SIU investigating after shooting leaves man dead, officer wounded

TORONTO — Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating a shootout in east Toronto that left a man dead and sent an officer to hospital.

An off-duty police officer was at a pub shortly after midnight Thursday when he saw a man with a gun, said Special Investigations Unit spokesperson Monica Hudon.

The officer called police, who arrived to find the man sitting in his car in the pub’s parking lot, she said.

The three responding police officers exchanged gunfire with the man while he was still in his car.

“The man was struck multiple times, he was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:41 a.m.,” Hudon told reporters Thursday.

One of the responding officers was also struck, but the round hit his bulletproof vest, and the officer was released from hospital later that morning, Hudon added.

The SIU has not revealed the name of the man killed in the shootout. Investigators are in the process of contacting the man’s next of kin and will not release his name unless they get his family’s permission, she said.

Investigators are still trying to determine who fired the first shot in the exchange and who fired the shot that struck the police officer, Hudon said.

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters the incident showed how vital bulletproof vests are to the safety of officers.

“I think in today’s environment, we can’t take for granted the importance of the equipment that is provided,” Saunders said.

“When I got on the job ... wearing a vest was optional and I remember people would be complaining because they’re cumbersome and it’s summer and it’s hot.”

The SIU, which reviews cases of death, serious injury and alleged sexual assault involving law enforcement, was unable to say which police service the officer who called 911 works for.