News Release
Firing of Less-Lethal Shotgun at Man by Police was Legally Justified; SIU Closes Toronto Investigation
Case Number: 22-TFI-246
Other News Releases Related to Case 22-TFI-246
SIU Investigating Discharge of Less-Lethal Shotgun at Man in Toronto
In the early afternoon of September 21, 2022, Toronto Police Service officers were dispatched to a store on Yonge Street after an employee reported that a man was harassing and threatening customers. An interaction ensued between the 36-year-old man and police, and one officer fired his less-lethal shotgun at the man four times. The man was apprehended and taken to hospital where it was discovered that one of the less-lethal projectiles has penetrated his abdomen. On SIU Director Joseph Martino’s assessment of the evidence, he found there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s injury. The file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.
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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES