Ontario's law-enforcement watchdog agency has cleared Windsor police in a fatal shooting last year.
In a statement Thursday, Special Investigations Unit (SIU) director of operations, Tony Loparco said they have concluded their investigation and found no grounds to charge any Windsor police officers in the shooting death of a 33-year-old man outside the McDonald's on Goyeau.
Police had been called to the Wyandotte Street East and Goyeau area shortly after 8 a.m. on March 21, 2018, on a report of a man with a knife block and a number of knives near the restaurant’s drive-thru window. The man was involved in an exchange with officers outside the restaurant which eventually resulted in two of the officers using their police-issued weapons.
The man, identified later as Matthew Mahoney, was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead of his injuries around 9:30 a.m. The two officers were treated at the hospital for minor injuries and released. A civilian, who was on a routine ride-along with one of the officers, was found to have blood on her clothing, according to the SIU report.
Windsor police immediately contacted SIU, which invoked its mandate and took over the investigation. Six investigators and four forensic investigators were assigned to the case, interviewing 18 civilian witnesses and eight witness officers.
The report determined that the shooting was justified and the officers will not face charges.
You can read the entire report by going to the SIU's official website.
