SIU says Niagara police officers acted legally when they fired anti-riot weapons at man during arrest

WARNING: This story contains a description of self harm.

The director of Ontario's police watchdog says there are "no reasonable grounds" to believe two Niagara police officers committed a crime when they fired anti-riot weapons at a 46-year-old St. Catharines man in November. The police arrested the man, who was undergoing a mental health crisis.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which scrutinizes police interactions that involve a death, serious injury or sexual assault, announced an investigation into the incident on Nov. 25 — the day the incident occurred. 

Around noon that day, the 46-year-old called 911 and said he had a knife and was planning to kill himself, a report on the investigation released March 25 says. The man told the dispatcher he was parked in his truck near a gravel lot at Dunkirk and Bunting roads in St. Catharines, Ont.

Niagara police officers arrived and started negotiating with the man, who was locked in his vehicle. Police learned the man had schizophrenia, was hearing voices and not taking medication, the report said. He was cutting his wrists and bleeding.

Emergency task force officers fired anti-riot weapons

A crisis response team and emergency task force arrived on the scene after the officers had been talking with the man. Emergency task force officers took over operations.

Around 2 p.m., the man agreed to get out of his truck and police tried to arrest him. They told him to stop and show his hands, but he continued to walk around his truck. The man refused to get down and turned back to open his truck door. 

In response, the emergency task force officers fired their anti-riot weapons at him. One officer hit his lower back, then thigh area. Another officer fired a "conducted energy weapon" into the man's back. 

Police arrested the man under Ontario's Mental Health Act and took him to hospital. 

The SIU interviewed the man and three officers who were on scene. The two officers who shot the man declined to be interviewed, which they are legally allowed to do.

SIU investigators noted the man's vehicle was surrounded by police cars and tire deflation devices. There was some blood on the ground near his driver-side door, and "several" anti-riot projectiles. They said four were fired but one was unaccounted for and believed to have landed in thick brush nearby. Investigators also reported finding a bloody folding knife in the truck. 

The report says the man was not seriously injured by the anti-riot projectiles. "His only injuries were self-inflicted lacerations to his wrists."

Police can arrest people who might harm themselves or others

Under the mental health act, the SIU report reads, officers can arrest people who they think might harm themselves. SIU director Joseph Martino analyzed the case and said he is satisfied that the man was "of unsound mind and a danger to himself and others."

Police used force that "was legally justified and no more than what was reasonable," Martino said. "Given what they knew of the [man's] mindset at the time, the officers had cause to be concerned that the [man's] intention in returning to his vehicle was to retrieve the knife to further harm or kill himself." 

He said it was also reasonable to think the man could have harmed an officer or member of the public. 

Therefore he said, the officers acted legally.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to look for help:

• Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.

• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on the website.

• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.

This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.