Director's Report Details

• The name of, and any information identifying, a subject official, witness official, civilian witness or affected person. 
• Information that may result in the identity of a person who reported that they were sexually assaulted being revealed in connection with the sexual assault. 
• Information that, in the opinion of the SIU Director, could lead to a risk of serious harm to a person. 
• Information that discloses investigative techniques or procedures.  
• Information, the release of which is prohibited or restricted by law.  
• Information in which a person’s privacy interest in not having the information published clearly outweighs the public interest in having the information published. 

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Pursuant to section14 (i.e., law enforcement), certain information may not be included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following: 

• Confidential investigative techniques and procedures used by law enforcement agencies; and 
• Information that could reasonably be expected to interfere with a law enforcement matter or an investigation undertaken with a view to a law enforcement proceeding. 

Pursuant to section 21 (i.e., personal privacy), protected personal information is not included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following: 

• The names of persons, including civilian witnesses, and subject and witness officials; 
• Location information; 
• Witness statements and evidence gathered in the course of the investigation provided to the SIU in confidence; and 
• Other identifiers which are likely to reveal personal information about individuals involved in the investigation. 

Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004

Pursuant to this legislation, any information related to the personal health of identifiable individuals is not included.

Other proceedings, processes, and investigations

Information may also have been excluded from this report because its release could undermine the integrity of other proceedings involving the same incident, such as criminal proceedings, coroner’s inquests, other public proceedings and/or other law enforcement investigations.

 

The Team

Date and time team dispatched: 03/13/2022 at 1:36 a.m.

Date and time SIU arrived on scene: 03/13/2022 at 5:04 a.m.

Number of SIU Investigators assigned: 3
Number of SIU Forensic Investigators assigned: 1

SIU investigators interviewed civilian and police witnesses, canvassed for additional witnesses, and searched for video footage in the area where the incident occurred.

The Complainant’s mother, Civilian Witness (CW) #1, was not interviewed. CW #1 was not present when the SO and other members of the LPS interacted with the Complainant. CW #1 had sustained significant stab wounds of her abdomen prior to police arriving and was sequestered in a neighbour’s apartment when the SO and the other members of the LPS were dealing with the Complainant.

CW #3 was not interviewed. In late April, the SIU learned that CW #3 was the Complainant’s surety and that a condition of the Complainant’s judicial release from custody was to reside with CW #3. CW #3, a resident of Ottawa, was not present at the time of incident.

WO #5 to #11 were not interviewed; however, their notes were reviewed. These police officers did not have any information to advance the investigation that was not already known from interviews of the Complainant and civilian and police witnesses, the subject official’s notes, photographs, and LPS records, statements and data obtained during the investigation.

Affected Person (aka “Complainant”):

29-year-old male interviewed

The Complainant was interviewed on May 11, 2022.

Civilian Witnesses

CW #1 Not interviewed (Next-of-kin)
CW #2 Interviewed
CW #3 Not interviewed (Not present)

CW #2 was interviewed on March 13, 2022.

Subject Officials

SO Declined interview, as is the subject official’s legal right; notes received and reviewed

Witness Officials

WO #1 Interviewed
WO #2 Interviewed
WO #3 Interviewed
WO #4 Interviewed
WO #5 Not interviewed, but notes received and reviewed
WO #6 Not interviewed, but notes received and reviewed
WO #7 Not interviewed, but notes received and reviewed
WO #8 Not interviewed, but notes received and reviewed
WO #9 Not interviewed, but notes received and reviewed
WO #10 Not interviewed, but notes received and reviewed
WO #11 Not interviewed, but notes received and reviewed

The witness officials were interviewed on March 17, 2022, and March 18, 2022.

The entire apartment was cluttered and in disarray. Accessibility and mobility throughout the apartment were difficult due to insufficient illumination and obstructive furnishings.

Scene Diagram

Physical Evidence

Figure 2 - The SO's BIP firearm

Video/Audio/Photographic Evidence [1]

LPS Communications Audio Recordings

The 911 call made by CW #2 from inside his apartment was six minutes and thirty-eight seconds in duration. Near the beginning of the call, indiscernible voices were heard shouting in the background which, by their echo, sounded like voices in the hallway near his apartment. CW #2 was relaying information to the communications operator when, at about two minutes into the audio recording, a man’s voice was heard telling CW #2, “You better get the police here.” A few seconds later, the man was heard speaking with the communications operator relaying that the Complainant was in and out of the apartment charging at him with scissors.

At about four minutes into the audio recording, a man’s voice [believed to be the Complainant] was heard yelling indiscernibly over the voice of a woman [believed to be CW #1] pleading, then shouting, “Noooo!” About 30 seconds later, a man’s voice was heard again on the telephone with the communications operator, shouting, “Hello! He just stabbed me with a fucking knife!” and, “God damn it! Will somebody get here!” Then, at about five minutes into the audio recording, when the communications operator asked the man if he [meaning the Complainant] still had the knife, the man, frantically and with difficulty breathing, replied, “Yes, two of them!” About 45 seconds later, after indiscernible shouting was heard, the man exclaimed that he [meaning the Complainant] was inside his [meaning the man’s] apartment unit.

As the 911 call audio recording ended, indiscernible and unidentifiable male voices were heard shouting, but for one male voice that was heard shouting, “Don’t tell me the fuckin’ what to do!”

The police dispatch communications recording was 16 minutes and 33 seconds in duration, and essentially captured the dispatching of police and EMS resources to the apartment, background information for the responding police officers, information regarding the stabbing victims, and the location of the Complainant.

At about nine minutes into the audio recording, one responding officer [believed to be WO #4] was heard asking for an officer [now known to be WO #2] to be positioned at the outside of the building to monitor the window associated with the apartment.

At about 13 minutes and 40 seconds into the audio recording, a police officer was heard reporting, “Taser deployed.”

At about 14 minutes and nine seconds, a police officer was heard asking, “Can we get another officer up here?” while other police officers were trying to get the Complainant handcuffed. About 21 seconds later, an officer reported that the Complainant was in handcuffs.

At about 16 minutes and 25 seconds into the audio recording, WO #4 radioed that the BIP firearm had been used, adding, “And for notification,” meaning SIU notification.

Materials Obtained from Police Service

The SIU obtained and reviewed the following records from the LPS:

• 2021 Emergency Response Unit (ERU) Annual Weapons Qualifications – the SO;
• Call Hardcopy;
• Communications recordings;
• CEW Download and Graph for the SO, WO #1 and WO #4;
• Civilian Witness List and Statements;
• General Occurrence;
• History of the Complainant with LPS;
• Less Lethal Deployment Techniques;
• Less Lethal Kinetic Impact Weapons;
• LPS Identification Photographs;
• Narrative and Notes for the SO and WOs;
• Procedure regarding Use of Force; and
• Use of Force Report;

Materials Obtained from Other Sources

The SIU endeavoured to obtain a copy of the medical records from London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) relevant to the Complainant’s injury; however, the records could not be obtained from LHSC, in this instance, without an authorization for the release of medical information signed by the Complainant. When the Complainant was interviewed on May 12, 2022, the Complainant agreed to provide the SIU with his signed authorization for the release of medical information. At the time of this report, however, the Complainant had not yet provided his signed authorization and had ceased communications with the SIU.

25 (1) Every one who is required or authorized by law to do anything in the administration or enforcement of the law

is, if he acts on reasonable grounds, justified in doing what he is required or authorized to do and in using as much force as is necessary for that purpose.