SIU clears officer in fatal shooting
Tecumseh man had fended off multiple Taser charges, stabbed another officer
The fatal shooting of a Tecumseh man at the hands of an OPP officer last summer was necessary and not excessive, according to the Special Investigations Unit.
Ontario’s SIU has concluded its investigation into the incident that took the life of a 48-year-old male resident of Estate Park on the night of June 14, 2019 — and found no grounds to charge the police officer who fired his service weapon.
According to the SIU report, the man was wielding a pair of scissors and a kitchen knife at the time of the shooting, had already stabbed another officer in the forearm and had fended off multiple Taser discharges.
“Put simply, faced with a mortal threat and only split seconds to decide what to do, I cannot find fault with the (subject officer)’s belief that he had to shoot the complainant to protect himself from an imminent risk of death,” wrote SIU director Joseph Martino.
The incident began when the mother of the man called 911 shortly before 8:15 p.m., crying that her son had barricaded himself in the bathroom of their home and was threatening to kill himself.
Police learned the man had a history of diagnosed mental-health issues, including psychotic episodes, and was armed with at least a steak knife.
The mother said her son became upset after they had argued about him smoking in the house, and she fled the residence after he held the knife to her throat.
Five OPP officers arrived at the scene: A split-level home in the 600 block of Estate Park, a Tecumseh subdivision.
The officer who eventually pulled the trigger was in charge. He arranged and directed emergency personnel in an attempt to contain and de-escalate the situation.
From inside the bathroom, the man cursed at police, told them to shoot him in the head, and said he had consumed a large quantity of cocaine.
Around 8:40 p.m., the officers enacted a plan to take the man into custody: A tactical officer entered the bathroom with his Taser drawn, with other officers positioned on the staircase immediately outside the bathroom, ready to apprehend the man.
There was blood in the bathtub. The man reacted angrily to the officer’s entry and advanced while armed with the scissors and the kitchen knife. A physical struggle ensued that spilled out of the bathroom and down the staircase.
At the bottom of stairs, while he was on his back, the man “swung his knife and scissors at the officers,” inflicting a “deep stab wound” to the forearm of the tactical officer.
Evidence shows the officers discharged their Tasers on the man a total of eight times. Yet he managed to rise to his feet — still armed. OPP retreated.
It was at that point the subject officer fired a single shot with his Glock service weapon, striking the man in his upper right chest.
The man fell to the floor. He was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:32 p.m.
Marino noted that in the time prior to the shooting, the subject officer made every effort to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution — consulting with the mother, trying to put the man in touch with his brother and even having a police dog kept outside the residence out of concern the dog’s barking would agitate the man.
While Marino described the man’s death as “tragic,” he believes the subject officer turned to lethal force only as a final option — “rendered necessary to thwart a real and present danger of death or grievous bodily harm.”
“Consequently, as I am of the view that the (subject officer) did not act excessively or unreasonably when he discharged his firearm … there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case against the subject officer and the file is closed.”