The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) found no reasonable grounds to believe a Collingwood OPP officer committed a criminal offence when shooting a suspect in May.
The incident occurred on May 21, 2025, around 5 p.m. Officers responded to a residence in the area of Campbell Street and Maple Street, where a 50-year-old man was reportedly "out of control" after allegedly consuming alcohol, marijuana, and pscilocybin (magic mushrooms).
When police arrived, the man was in a shed in the backyard and told officers to back up. He later emerged from the shed holding a flare gun and a mason jar of gasoline.
Officers pointed their weapons at the man and told him to drop it. As the male officer approached, the man threw the jar at the ground in front of him. The officer attempted to tase the man, at the same time that he fired the flare into the bushes near police. The taser was apparently ineffective.
According to the SIU, the female officer discharged her weapon four times as the man retreated to the shed. About 10 seconds later he emerged from the shed, squatted on the ground, and was placed under arrest. He had sustained gunshot wounds to his lower torso.
SIU Director Joseph Martino wrote in his report that the officer's actions were reasonable and legally justifiable.
"I am unable to reasonably conclude that the (officer's) resort to gunfire was precipitous or unwarranted," he wrote. "With every reason to believe that the Complainant was intent on doing her and the other officers mortal harm, and with the Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) discharge by (the other officer) without seeming effect, the officer was right to conclude that the immediate stopping power of a firearm was commensurate with the exigencies of the moment."
However, Martino wrote that the officer that fired that taser may have been in violation of the Special Investigations Unit Act, for removing the CEW cartridge and wiring from the scene.
The matter will be referred to the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency.
