Sault officer cleared in death during 2021 arrest
WARNING: Graphic content may be upsetting to some audiences.
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has wrapped up a case involving a 30-year-old man who died of a self-inflicted stab wound during an arrest in Sault Ste. Marie in January 2021.
The officer at the centre of the investigation has been found not criminally responsible for the suspect's death by the provincial watchdog, SIU director Joseph Martino said in a news release Monday.
Sault Ste. Marie police were called to an apartment complex on Albert Street East around 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23, 2021, about an aggressive man with a knife that refused to leave the lobby.
When officers arrived, the suspect kept his right hand inside his coat pocket and declined to remove it after repeated requests, saying his arm was broken, the release said. He told the cops he was trying to get to a local shelter.
The suspect was under probation for assaulting a peace officer and was not allowed to have knives, Martino's report said.
When his possession of a knife became evident, an officer told him he was under arrest, but the suspect didn't surrender.
"Efforts to persuade the man to disarm himself and show his right hand were to no avail. At some point, three officers deployed their conducted energy weapons at the man," the SIU said.
"As the man fell to the ground, his right hand came out of his pocket holding a knife, which he used to cut across the front of his neck."
The officers were able to get the man under control after a struggle and performed first aid on the suspect, Martino said.
He was taken to hospital by paramedics where he was pronounced dead.
The SIU investigates cases of serious injury, death, shooting or sexual assault allegations involving police.
This case involved four civilian and eight official witnesses.
Read the full report here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Israel has briefed U.S. on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation
Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.