An OPP officer has been cleared by the Ontario police watchdog – the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) – after fatally shooting an armed suspect who was wanted for a series of crimes in the Port Elgin and rural Bruce County area last February.
|The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates incidents involving police officers where there has been death, serious injury, firearm discharge at a person, or sexual assault allegations.
According to SIU Director Joseph Martino, there were no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed any criminal offense in connection with the incident that started early on Feb. 21 when a 48-year-old man arrived at Kincardine hospital complaining of hallucinations.
After being discharged, he went on a crime spree that included breaking into homes, stealing vehicles, assaulting people, and taking a firearm.
Throughout that day, police were searching for the suspect who crashed his stolen vehicle in downtown Port Elgin before running away on foot. He assaulted a woman in an attempt to get her car keys and broke into a nearby house.
The suspect stole another vehicle and fled again. OPP officers found him and his stolen vehicle in rural Port Elgin and used a tire deflation device which caused him to lose control and crash into a ditch.
The SIU reported that the suspect, armed with a modified sawed-off shotgun, ran to a house located near Sideroad 13 and Bruce-Saugeen Townline area where he threatened the homeowners and demanded their car keys. He tried to escape in their vehicle just as officers arrived on scene.
“Armed with a rifle, an officer rushed towards the driver’s door of the vehicle and ordered the man to show his hands. The man raised his empty hands. The officer then opened the driver’s door as the man retrieved a shotgun and pointed it at the officer. The officer fired multiple rounds from his rifle. The man was transported to hospital where he was pronounced deceased.”
The SIU Full Director’s report is available at: https://www. siu. on. ca/en/directors_reports. php.
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