News Release
No Basis to Charge Guelph Police Officer After ARWEN Discharge at Man
Case Number: 21-OFP-116
Other News Releases Related to Case 21-OFP-116
The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has found no reasonable grounds to charge a Guelph Police Service (GPS) officer who discharged his Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) at a 27-year-old man in Guelph in April 2021. The officer who discharged the ARWEN was identified as the subject official for purposes of the SIU investigation.
On April 8, 2021, GPS officers received a 911 call about the presence of possibly armed men attempting to break into an apartment unit. Police officers were dispatched to the address. When the officers arrived, they directed the two men outside the apartment door to stop and drop to their knees. The first man complied but the other one did not and was shot at by the subject official. The two men were subsequently arrested without further incident. Neither party suffered a serious injury in the incident.
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):
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
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SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES