Northern Ont. mayor says better police communication needed in wake of Highway 11 shooting

The mayor of Coleman Township, just south of Temiskaming Shores, said he is frustrated with how Ontario Provincial Police officers handled communication during the fatal Highway 11 shooting last week.

When OPP shut down a section of the highway to investigate a fatal shooting, Coleman Township Mayor Dan Cleroux said he felt residents were left in the dark about the length of the closure.

Drone footage of the scene near Latchford, Ont., Thursday night. (Courtesy of Ty Olson)

Cleroux spoke to CTV News in an online video interview Tuesday and expressed concerns about the police’s emergency plans and their communication.

"We received hardly any communication and with OPP, it’s usually very good," Cleroux said.

"Our citizens were starting to question why nobody had contacted us."

He said he was concerned that if a separate emergency were to occur and either firefighters or paramedics needed to use the highway, then they wouldn’t have been able to get through.

Police shut down the highway Thursday evening and issued a shelter-in-place advisory for the nearby town of Latchford and its surrounding area, including Coleman Township.

This was the view at the turn for Temagami Marine Road on Highway 11 North just before 10:30 p.m. on March 7, 2024. (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)

The highway remained closed until Friday evening for the investigation.

"We’ve got to work on better communication between the Township of Coleman and the OPP. This is not our first rodeo and it's not their first," Cleroux said.

Phone tree idea

An idea from Coleman town councillor Lois Perry is to start a phone directory to keep citizens without cell phones or internet access up to date in these types of emergency situations, Cleroux said.

"We can draw on that," he said.

"This is where Mr. and Mrs. lives and then we can communicate with them by telephone if we can't access them by knocking on the door."

Shootout with police

Two male suspects sped off from OPP in Kirkland Lake after officers attempted to stop their vehicle.

Police pursued, chasing them south down the highway.

Both officers and the suspects opened fire on each other in a standoff near Portage Bay Road off the highway in the township.

The scene near Latchford, Ont., where police ended a shelter-in-place order early Friday morning. (Photo courtesy of Colleen Pender)

A 26-year-old suspect was shot and killed by police.

The second suspect, a 23-year-old Hamilton man, was arrested and faces a slew of charges.

Also during the gunfight, a 76-year-old bystander was seriously injured.

"At this time, the (Special Investigations Unit) is unable to confirm whose gunfire is responsible for the injuries suffered by the bystander," SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette said in an email to CTV News.

"The investigation remains ongoing."

As of Monday, the bystander remains in hospital with serious injuries.

Police under scrutiny

Ontario’s police watchdog, the SIU, is conducting its own investigation as a suspect died while in an interaction with police officers.

Denette confirmed the autopsy on the dead suspect is done.

"The officers involved in the incident have been designated as of today (Tuesday)," Denette said.

"Five subject officials and one witness official have been designated at this time."

Only the witness official is required to undergo interviews by the SIU team and submit their incident notes.

"Once he/she becomes the focus of an investigation and therefore under criminal jeopardy, the subject official is granted the same rights as any citizen under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect himself/herself from self-incrimination," the SIU Act said.