Day three of the manslaughter trial of a Chatham-Kent Ontario Provincial Police (CK OPP) officer featured two expert witnesses called by the prosecution.
CK OPP Constable Sean O'Rourke, 57, is charged with manslaughter in connection to the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Nicholas Grieves on Highway 401 near Ridgetown in July 2021.
O'Rourke was responding to a report of a gas theft when Grieves was shot in the upper torso. Grieves was later pronounced dead in hospital.
According to police, Grieves was fleeing from officers following the gas theft from the Dutton ONroute rest stop on Highway 401 at around 4:30 a.m. on July 7, 2021.
On Wednesday, the trial heard from Judy Chin, a firearms expert from the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, and OPP Inspector Jason Oxby, an expert on OPP firearms training.
Chin told the court in Chatham that she began examining O'Rourke's standard OPP-issue handgun, a Glock 17, 9 mm Luger, in October 2021. She also conducted test firing and concluded the gun was working properly.
She said an exam was also done in December 2021 on the pressure it would take to pull the trigger, adding that the amount of pressure required to pull the trigger is average to slightly heavy.
However, Chin noted there was no drop or bump test done to determine if the pistol would fire accidentally.
The court also heard OPP Inspector Oxby testify that new OPP officers get about 20 days of general firearms training at police college on rifles, shotguns, and handguns with 10 hours of live firing at a range specifically with the Glock.
They must also requalify to use their firearms every year, according to Oxby, adding that officers inspect their handguns, including an attached flashlight, every shift and report any problems.
Oxby also told the trial that OPP officers get about an hour of low-light training, which is important because the deadly shooting took place on a dark highway.
He also added that OPP Standard Operating Procedures state that officers can only unholster their handguns if there's a perceived safety threat that could result in bodily harm or death, and they must keep their finger off the trigger until their target is in their sight and they intend to shoot.
There was some debate about finger positioning and turning on the gun light as the defence suggested O'Rourke could have mistakenly pulled the trigger in a "high-stress" situation when he meant to turn on the light that night.
The trial continues on Thursday and Friday with experts to be called by the defence.