The province’s police watchdog will not rate 3 Toronto police officers who shot and killed a man in an interaction at a Scarborough home last August.
On Saturday, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released its findings on the shooting death of a 42-year-old man near Midland Avenue and Kingston Road on the afternoon of Aug. 13.
SIU Director Joseph Martino said there was no moderate cause “for any of the officers to behave outside the bounds of the offender law when he shot the man. “
In his report, Martino provided a detailed account of what happened that day, evidence the SIU had collected at the scene and documents he had received from paramedics and Toronto police, and added body camera footage, communications recordings and notes from officers.
READ THE FULL REPORT: SIU concludes investigation into Toronto man’s death
The SIU said police won a call from Toronto firefighters about a woman who stabbed in the domain shortly after 2:30 p. m. Firefighters were in a nearby apartment when they spotted a woman outside a space with cuts on her body. woman with a child.
Firefighters, the SIU said, were informed through the woman that her husband, who assaulted her, is still interned with some other child.
Three police officers arrived at the scene and one of them knocked on the front door but got no answer. The others went to the back for reasons of confinement. Officers discovered a basement but learned it had no access to the ground floor of the building. where the boy is staying.
“Sensing a growing urgency to enter the home to ensure the safety of the child, a resolution was made to forcibly enter the residence,” the SIU said.
The 3 officials and two firefighters regrouped to force the front door. Since they were in the procedure of opening it, the door opened inwards and the guy “appeared with a knife”.
Knife that belonged to a 42-year-old man who led police to shoot him. (SIU)
Firefighters pulled away from the door and at least one of the officers yelled at the guy to lower the knife.
When the guy crossed the threshold of the door with the knife over his head, “he was met with gunfire” by the 3 officers, the SIU said.
The guy pulled out, the SIU said, but approached the door “within seconds” while still holding the knife.
“He said to ‘get to the ground’ and waved through another barrage of gunfire from (officers) as he continued to move forward and opened the back door on the porch,” the SIU said.
As a result, the man collapsed and one of the officers performed CPR temporarily. Paramedics arrived later and took him to the hospital, where he died.
The SIU said the cause of death “was due to ‘multiple torso. ‘”
In the report, the SIU could not determine the number of shots fired through each of the officers, but indicated that a count of ammunition left in their firearms indicated that one of the officers fired 3 or 4 times, the other 4 or five. times, and the last six or seven times.
The SIU added that thirteen shell casings of used cartridges were discovered at the scene.
Toronto police are at the scene of a stabbing and in Scarborough. (Simon Sheehan/CP24)
“There is no doubt that each of the 3 officials involved fired their weapons with the aim of protecting themselves and those around them from a rather apprehensive attack,” Martino wrote in his analysis.
He noted that the 3 officials did not show up for an interview of the SIU investigation, to which they are legally entitled.
“I am also satisfied that the force used by the officials involved to protect themselves and others reasonable. The risk presented by (the man) when he opened the internal door and pounced on the officials clearly. “
Martino said the lives of officials and firefighters were in imminent danger of death or serious physical harm; Therefore, there is a pressing desire to disable man.
He said withdrawal and withdrawal were options, given the speed at which events unfolded.
“The (man) had retreated into space after being hit for the first time, but was not incapacitated. Within seconds, it became complex toward the officials still carrying the knife. For all intents and purposes, the risk points to the same thing. The officials reacted as they did seconds before, reasonably, in my opinion,” Martino wrote.
Consequently, he concluded, “there is no explanation as to why fees should be fixed in this case and the file has been closed. “