Two Ontario Provincial Police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in an April 20 shooting incident in Elliot Lake, where a 49-year-old man shot himself in the head at the community's parole office, said the director of the Special Investigations Unit.
“There are no reasonable grounds to believe that any police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the complainant’s death,” said Joseph Martino in his report. “I am satisfied that the complainant is alone responsible for his self-inflicted death.”
On April 20, at 11 a.m., the man attended the Elliot Lake Probation and Parole Office for a scheduled meeting. A few minutes later, two Ontario Provincial Police officers arrived at the office to arrest the man for having breached a condition of a prohibition order.
At the time of the incident, the man was under an order not to be in the presence of anyone under the age of 16 unless in the company of an adult approved by the court. He had earlier in the month been seen in the company of a woman and her two children at a Shoppers Drug Mart store, said the SIU in its report.
At news that the officers were there to arrest him, the man became agitated and asked that the officers not enter the room he was in.
Witnesses said they heard officers over an open microphone yelling, “drop the gun, put it down.”
Shortly thereafter, the man shot himself with a vintage .38-calibre handgun he had tucked into his waistband.
He was pronounced deceased at the scene. A post-mortem examination conducted in Sault Ste. Marie determined the cause of death was a single gunshot to the head.
The report said prior to arriving at the office, the OPP officers had unsuccessfully tried to find the man at his home. They had also checked the man’s record and had no reason to believe that he would be armed or dangerous.
“In the circumstances, I am satisfied that they approached the matter with reasonable care and caution,” said Martino.
“Once at the Probation and Parole Office, and having advised the complainant that he was under arrest, the officers had little time to react as the complainant retrieved his weapon and used it to shoot himself. Thereafter, the record indicates that (both officers) did what they could to render medical aid while they waited for paramedics.”
