The province’s police oversight agency has ended its investigation into an incident where an officer fired a non-lethal firearm at an individual while responding to a distress call this past spring.
According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), on the afternoon of April 10, 2023, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Oxford County were called to an address in Norwich for a report of a person who was reportedly at risk of harming themselves.
When officers arrived, they set up a containment area and brought in a crisis negotiator to try and resolve the situation.
The standoff continued into the following day, which is when officers entered the home upon learning the person had caused harm to themselves.
Once inside, police located the individual in possession of a knife and ordered them to drop it.
An officer fired a single-round from his Anti-riot Weapon ENfield (ARWEN) firearm striking them in the leg. The person did not drop the knife until they were bit in the shoulder by a police service dog.
The person was taken into custody by police under provisions of the Mental Health Act. They reportedly suffered some bruising from the ARWEN discharge.
On Wednesday, SIU Director Joseph Martino ruled that there are no reasonable grounds to proceed with criminal charges against the officer.
“I am satisfied it was legally justified,” read part of Martino’s analysis of the incident. “Approaching the Complainant to disarm him manually was a risky proposition. The Complainant was holding a knife at the time and could have used it to inflict injury on himself or the officers.”
The file is now closed.
