News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Ottawa Officer Who Shot at Fleeing Vehicle
Case Number: 23-OFP-517
Other News Releases Related to Case 23-OFP-517
SIU Investigating After Ottawa Police Officer Fires Gun at Man in Car
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, found no reasonable grounds to believe an Ottawa Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with firing at a vehicle driven by a 30-year-old man. On December 16, 2023, officers discovered a Hyundai Elantra was stolen and attempted to arrest the occupants. The driver attempted to flee and, in the process, pinned and struck an officer, smashed into a police vehicle and drove at another officer. An officer fired at the vehicle a total of four times; the man was not struck by gunfire. He was later located and arrested.
Director Martino was satisfied that the officer’s resort to gunfire was reasonable and doing something to incapacitate the driver made sense as the lives of both officers were in imminent peril.
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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES