Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has determined that there are no grounds to lay charges against any Thunder Bay Police officer in connection with a fatality at a Kingsway motel last summer.
A 33-year-old man who had barricaded himself in a room was found without vital signs after police eventually gained entry to the room the morning of July 13, 2016.
According to the SIU report on the incident released on Monday, a forensic pathologist later determined the man had succumbed to a lethal combination of alcohol and various drugs.
The report indicates that when the incident began late on the night of July 12, the man told police he was armed and threatened to shoot if anyone approached.
SIU Acting Director Joseph Martino said that under the circumstances, it was prudent for police to try to communicate with the man from a distance instead of entering the room earlier than they did, as police believed they might be shot.
He said police had no way of knowing that he was unarmed, had taken a combination of drugs and was in medical distress.
