Family demands answers
Many questions remain after Norfolk County gunsmith shot dead by police on Nov. 3
NORFOLK COUNTY Why did Toronto police officers come all the way to Norfolk County to investigate gunsmith Rodger Kotanko, and how did he end up dead?
Those are among many questions still unanswered two weeks after Kotanko was shot on Nov. 3 by police officers searching for weapons at his home on Port Ryerse Road, west of Port Dover.
Kotanko, 70, was reportedly shot four times — once in the neck and three times in the chest — and died of his injuries at hospital.
Personal injury lawyer Michael Smitiuch addressed over 50 of Kotanko’s neighbours, friends and customers at a news conference outside the family home on Thursday.
“We are here to seek answers and to seek accountability,” Smitiuch said. “This will not be swept under the rug. This community demands answers. This family deserves them. So we won’t stop till we get to the truth and we get justice for Rodger.”
Standing behind Smitiuch were Kotanko’s relatives, including his 88-year-old mother, Elinor, wife Jessie, and his three children.
His sister, Suzanne Kantor, said the family is still reeling.
“We’re just all in shock,” Kantor said.
“He wasn’t violent. He wasn’t somebody to be afraid of. He was harmless,” she continued.
“That’s why we’re really struggling with how they could come in and do something like this.”
Smitiuch said he has seen video of the events leading up to — but not including — the shooting, but he did not reveal the source of the footage.
According to Smitiuch’s version of events, Toronto police allegedly had a “spotter” vehicle parked near the Kotanko home the morning of Nov. 3. He said officers would have seen Kotanko and his wife, Jessie, return from a shopping trip.
The lawyer alleges officers waited till Kotanko — a gunsmith for over 30 years — went into his shop before “detaining” his wife and moving in around noon.
Smitiuch said officers did not get beyond the front door of Kotanko’s small shop, opening fire from the grass outside after breaching the entrance.
“Why didn’t they stop Rodger when he pulled into this driveway with Jessie and peacefully deal with this?” Smitiuch said.
Jeff Kotanko said his older brother was in such high demand as a gunsmith that his customers urged him to never retire.
Smitiuch said his efforts to get answers from police and the Special Investigations Unit — the civilian agency that investigates police shootings — have “hit a wall,” with no response from the SIU’s lead investigator.
“There’s a cone of silence that is covering this event,” Smitiuch said, adding neither he nor the family have seen the warrant Toronto police were allegedly there to serve.“Where is this warrant? On what grounds was this warrant issued? We don’t know.”
Smitiuch called it “highly unusual” for Toronto police to serve a warrant outside the city without contacting the local OPP detachment until “a few minutes” before moving in.
Had they done so, he said, tragedy could have been averted, as Kotanko had done work for local police officers and was well known to the OPP.
“These were the people who had been in Rodger’s shop. They knew Rodger and could have facilitated a very peaceful and calm execution of this warrant,” Smitiuch said.
Kotanko’s family and their lawyer would also like to know the identity of a stranger who called Kotanko the night before his death and made an appointment to see him the next day.
Smitiuch said this unknown person, who told Kotanko they were a customer, was in the shop at the time of the shooting but has not been heard from since.
Smitiuch said the police seized Kotanko’s cellphone, which could offer a clue as to the mystery customer’s identity. He said Kotanko’s death at the hands of police “cries of negligence at least.”
“Whether it’s criminal or not, we’ll see,” Smitiuch said. “The planning of this seems to be botched, as was the actual raid.”
The SIU has reported that one Toronto police officer fired his weapon while executing the warrant.
The agency has identified one officer as the subject of its investigation, as well as seven witness officers who are legally bound to turn over their notes and submit to interviews with SIU investigators. The subject officer is under no obligation to participate.
In a news release issued Thursday afternoon, SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette said investigators have collected one police firearm which was sent for analysis to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto.
Investigators have so far interviewed five officers and two civilian witnesses, Denette said.
Results of a post-mortem exam conducted Nov. 4 are still pending.
A central question, Smitiuch said, is why Kotanko was under investigation. As a licensed gunsmith, Kotanko was “squeaky clean” and had “no issues” with law enforcement, he said.
This community demands answers. This family deserves them.
So we won’t stop till we get to the truth and we get justice for Rodger. — Personal injury lawyer Michael Smitiuch