The police watchdog in Ontario is looking into a death that occurred after a shooting involving an officer in North York on Saturday.
According to Toronto police, officers were called just before 1:30 p. m. about a damaged vehicle that was driving erratically near Wilson and King High avenues.
The car had been in an accident, and the driver tried to escape the scene, police reported.
During their encounter with the driver, an officer fired their weapon, according to police.
The driver was declared dead at the scene, with no injuries reported among officers.
Toronto police stated that the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) had been informed.
Monica Hudon, a spokesperson for the SIU, confirmed that they are conducting an investigation.
The SIU looks into events involving police and civilians that lead to serious injuries, deaths, or claims of sexual assault.
Clayton Campbell, president of the Toronto Police Association, expressed his eagerness to learn more about what happened from the watchdog. He believed that evidence would reveal violence directed towards the responding officers.
“Thank goodness, today our officers are going home okay.”
Campbell mentioned past incidents where officers were harmed, including Const. Marc Pinizzotto’s tragic death after being shot while executing a search warrant related to several shootings in the Greater Toronto Area, one involving the U. S. Consulate.
“We have an officer that unfortunately had to use their firearm. I can tell you that’s the last thing they want to do,” he said. “They only do that when their life or the life of another person is at risk.”
One individual was shot and there are no other suspects as per Campbell’s statement.
Local resident Jeremy Pilarski shared that he had just stepped into his backyard when he heard gunfire.
“It’s pretty crazy. It’s a quiet neighbourhood,” he said.</pp
Pilarski mentioned running inside and telling his son to hide.</pp
“I’d never heard sounds like that before in the neighbourhood,” he said.</pp
“I just wanted to figure out what was happening right away,” Pilarski added as he noted it was unclear what had transpired.
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