The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with shooting an Anti-riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) at a 58-year-old man while he was being apprehended in January.
On Jan. 3, 2022, officers were called to a residence near Highway 41 and County Road 14 in the Township of Stone Mills for a man in distress with a rifle. Officers attempted to apprehend the man under the Mental Health Act. The man exited his home and refused repeated police commands to drop the firearm he was holding. An officer struck the man three times with ARWEN rounds. The man fell and dropped the gun, and a police dog bit his left leg. He was handcuffed and taken to hospital. The man was not seriously injured.
According to the SIU report, the OPP reported that on Jan. 3, 2022, at approximately 11 a.m. the complainant was on the phone with his doctor and had expressed suicidal ideations. The doctor reported the incident to the OPP, and police officers responded to the Complainant’s residence in Stone Mills Township (Greater Napanee). The police officers set up a perimeter around the house and made contact with the complainant. At one point, he exited the residence armed with a rifle and levelled it at the police officers. One of the OPP tactical police officers fired his Anti-riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) several times at the complainant and he went down. A police dog then subdued the complainant. He was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and transported to Kingston General Hospital. The complainant had suffered some bruising from the ARWEN strikes and required some stitches from dog bites.
Martino’s reported indicated he was satisfied that the subject official comported himself reasonably throughout his engagement with the man, leaving no basis for proceeding with criminal charges against the officer. The file has been closed.