The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a North Bay Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in the shooting of a 34-year-old man in January.
On January 30, 2022, an officer was in his cruiser, parked on Fraser Street, as part of an unrelated assault investigation. A man approached the empty nearby cruiser of another officer and attempted to open the doors. When the officer exited his cruiser to question the man, the man armed himself with a knife and advanced at the officer. The officer shot and wounded the man. The man fled and two officers chased him on foot. He was arrested and taken to hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound on his left arm.
Director Martino was satisfied the officer acted reasonably when he decided to meet a lethal threat with a resort to lethal force of his own. Accordingly, Director Martino found no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer comported himself unlawfully when he shot and wounded the man. The file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=1972.
