Niagara cop shot by officer

OFFICER IN HOSPITAL WITH GUNSHOT WOUND AFTER ‘INTERACTION’

A police officer was critically injured Thursday in a shooting incident that Ontario’s police watchdog said involved two members of the Niagara regional police.

The Special Investigations Unit said it was probing “an interaction” between two officers, one of whom sustained a gunshot wound.

It said the incident took place in Pelham, Ont., but provided no further details.

The Niagara regional police said an officer was injured and airlifted to hospital, but added it would not comment any further as the SIU had taken over the investigation.

The province’s air ambulance service said it transported a patient from a St. Catharines, Ont., hospital to a trauma centre in Hamilton with critical injuries.

Local residents said the incident prompted a rush of squad cars racing to the scene in the early afternoon.

Robin Zavitz, who lives in the area, said she was driving home around 1:30 p.m. when she came across a police blockade. She said she could see a police SUV in the ditch and numerous squad cars nearby.

“The police car is head first in the ditch and there doesn’t appear to be any damage to it,” Zavitz said.

“It’s scary when a police officer has been shot in the middle of the day.”

Zavitz said a police car had been blocking the road at the same intersection all morning, but added the flurry of police activity didn’t occur until the early afternoon.

Niagara region police had tweeted earlier on Thursday that the road would be partially closed for an investigation.

The SIU is an arm’s length agency that is automatically called in to investigate reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.