News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Death of London Man
Case Number: 05-OCD-097
Other News Releases Related to Case 05-OCD-097
SIU Investigates Death in London
SIU Continues to Investigate Death in London
On June 27, 2005, the SIU was notified by the LPS of the death of Mr. Greda at a home on Princess Avenue in London. The SIU received information that in addition to Mr. Greda, the bodies of three other people were also found inside the home. Ten SIU investigators, including forensic identification technicians, were dispatched. Based on the preliminary information gathered at the scene, it was determined that the SIU would probe Mr. Greda's death to determine the extent of police involvement and that the LPS would investigate the deaths of Halina, Julia and Michael Czuba.
As part of the investigation, the SIU located four spent .40 calibre cartridge cases in the driveway of the home. The rounds were discharged from an LPS officer's service pistol and that officer was designated as the subject of the investigation. The projectiles from the officer's gun were all recovered embedded in the front porch of the home, indicating that the officer did not hit anyone.
The SIU also extensively examined the bathroom where the body of Mr. Greda was found with a sawed off shotgun between his legs. The shotgun was secured and examined by forensic identification technicians, along with the two spent shotgun shells also found in the bathroom.
The SIU investigation determined that at approximately 2:20 a.m. on June 27, 2005, a 9-year-old girl ran to a neighbour's home and banged on the door for help. The neighbour called 911 and reported that a man had broken into 682 Princess Avenue and was assaulting the girl's mother. Four LPS officers, who were in the area of Princess Avenue on an unrelated call, immediately responded to the home and arrived on the scene in less than one minute. When they approached the front door of the home, Mr. Greda fired on them with a shotgun through the window. Two officers were struck by the shotgun blast. As the four officers retreated for cover, one of the injured officers managed to return fire and shot four times. Officers heard several more shotgun blasts from inside the home and then saw Mr. Greda set the house on fire.
Emergency Response Service (ERS) officers secured a perimeter around the house. Acting on information that there were a number of people inside the burning home, the police decided they had to enter immediately. Officers entered by the front door and found the bodies of four persons, including Mr. Greda. All of them were dead except for a 5-year-old boy who died a short time later in hospital.
A post mortem examination on Mr. Greda found he died from a massive head wound caused by a single shotgun blast to the head.
Director Cornish stated, "I am satisfied that Mr. Greda shot himself in the head with his own weapon shortly after he fired on the officers. He was not killed by any action or inaction on the part of the police. Furthermore, I am satisfied that Mrs. Czuba and her 2 children were not harmed in any way by police conduct." The Director added, "The LPS was extremely cooperative, which assisted the SIU in bringing its investigation into this tragic case to a speedy close. The evidence gathered by the SIU indicates the officers did their duty in this matter and indeed in doing their duty, displayed heroic character and a calculated disregard for their own safety in an effort to save lives."
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