News Release

News Release

SIU Investigating Death of Man in Peterborough

Case Number: 15-OCD-052   

Mississauga (29 March, 2015) --- Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is probing the circumstances surrounding the death of a 58-year-old man last night in Peterborough.

Preliminary information indicates the following:

• At approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2015, officers with the Peterborough Police Service (PPS) were contacted about a man with a firearm;
• Officers were able to locate the man in his vehicle in the parking lot of a Walmart located at 1054 Chemong Road;
• Officers set up a command post and attempted to communicate with the man via bullhorn;
• At 8 p.m., a gunshot was heard from the man’s vehicle;
• PPS officers and Emergency Medical Services approached the vehicle where they found the man deceased.

The SIU has assigned three investigators and one forensic investigator to probe the circumstances of this incident.  A post-mortem has been scheduled for tomorrow morning in Toronto.

Anyone who may have information about this incident is asked to contact the lead investigator at 416-622-1898 or 1-800-787-8529 extension 1898.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must

• consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
• depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
• publicly report the results of its investigations