Timmins police officer cleared for shooting suspect during arrest
A 31-year-old man was shot during an arrest last fall and now Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has cleared the Timmins police officer responsible of any wrongdoing.
The officer responsible was on patrol when he reportedly saw the suspect run from a residence on Commercial Avenue around 1:25 a.m. Oct. 31. Around that time, the resident called police to report a break-in in progress and said that someone he didn't know broke the side window of his house by throwing a beer bottle at it, the director's report of the incident said.
The suspect was seen meeting up with another man and a woman on the street before getting into a vehicle and driving away, the report said. The responding officer pulled them over nearby at the intersection of Rea Street and Bannerman Avenue.
Another officer arrived and during the arrest, one man ran away on foot while the suspect fought with the two officers trading punches. At one point during the fight, the suspect pulled out a Ruger pistol shot twice at the officers and was then shot in the lower back by one of them when he tried to get away.
The man sustained serious injuries in the shooting and was taken to hospital by paramedics. He had surgery for a fractured spine as a result of the incident.
Video footage from both of the officer's vehicles as well as surveillance footage from a home on Rea Street South was used as evidence in the decision.
The female driver was arrested without incident and a canine track was conducted for the second man that fled.
No injuries to the police officers were mentioned in the incident report.
Because the suspect shot at the officers first, the SIU director, Joseph Martino, said the officer was justified in shooting him in order to protect himself and his colleague and no criminal charges will be laid.
"On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the (subject officer) committed a criminal offence in connection with the shooting," Martino said in his decision. "I am satisfied that the force used by the officers during the struggle was reasonably necessary pursuant to section 25(1) of the criminal code. More specifically, in the context of an individual determined to break free from the officers, and whose resistance escalated to the point of producing a firearm despite the several punches to the head delivered by (witnessing officer) #2 and the (subject officer), the evidence not does establish that the force used by the officers during this time was excessive."
Read the full report here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP want Liberals to scrap proposed election date change that could secure pensions for many MPs
The federal New Democrats want to amend the Liberal government's electoral reform legislation to scrap the proposal to push back the vote by a week and consequently secure pensions for dozens of MPs, CTV News has learned.
Supreme Court won't hear appeal in Montreal brainwashing experiments case
The Supreme Court of Canada will not review a Quebec ruling that bars people from suing the U.S. government in Canada over its role in notorious brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital.
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
Teen pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of homeless man in downtown Toronto
One of eight teen girls charged in the death of a homeless man in downtown Toronto has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
'I'm not wealthy': Ontario senior shocked she owes $40,000 in capital gains after gifting land
An Ontario senior who wanted to help her daughter and grandson eventually own homes one day decided to give them two lots on her property as a gift—but she didn’t know it would eventually cost her tens of thousands of dollars.
Fewer immigrants could have economic impacts as Canadians age: RBC
High levels of immigration are helping blunt the economic impact of Canada's aging population even though it's worsened challenges with housing affordability, a report by RBC says.
Police arrest 19-year-old suspect after Montreal triple homicide
Police have made an arrest following a deadly street fight that ended with three people killed in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough last week.
How to save on food and drinks at your next sports game or concert
When Dianne Debarros and Tom Stitzel headed to a Toronto Blue Jays game last month, the couple figured dining at the Rogers Centre would not be cheap.
Video shows driver in Toronto frantically getting out of car being pushed by truck
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.