A decision by Toronto police officers to use a sock gun to take down an armed suspect should be seen as a “success story” in an otherwise risky situation, the police chief said.
It was around 8 p.m. on Wednesday when police officers on patrol near Sherbourne and Dundas streets came across a man in a convenience store, holding a knife and chasing another man.
The officers reportedly shouted at the suspect to stop, but he did not. Instead, police said, the suspect turned on the officers.
According to authorities, as he approached the officers, they fired a sock gun to incapacitate him.
Surveillance video of the incident, obtained by CTV News Toronto, shows police fire the weapon and the suspect falling to the ground.
Gohar Muhammad, an employee at the store, described the scene as a “bad dream.”
“’Drop your weapon, drop your weapon,’ the police guys said ‘drop your weapon.’ Then he shot two shots, three shots,” Muhammad explained.
The suspect suffered serious injuries – possibly a broken hand – but is expected to be OK.
Staff and customers say he is a regular at the store. They also say he suffers from mental health issues and was acting out of character.
“He (was) not normal. Even I tried to calm (him) down. ‘OK, I give you coffee, cool down, calm down, I can help you,’ but he’s not like that ... still in his hand was a big knife,” Muhammad recounted.
The province’s Special Investigations Unit has since taken over the investigation.
No one else was hurt during the ordeal.
Chief Mark Saunders said the minimal harm – to the suspect, officers and civilians – is what made the situation a “success story.”
“Our use of force is always to use the minimum amount of force necessary and when you listen to the mechanics of what happened – which I can’t speak to because the SIU is involved – it’s going to be a success story at the end of the day because there’s no loss of life,” he said Thursday.
“As an organization, we take a lot of credence in making sure that our outcomes are zero deaths, zero harm.”
A sock gun, also known as a bean-bag gun, is a weapon that fires rounds designed to be less lethal than ordinary ammunition.
Toronto police have several use-of-force options available to them while on duty, including pepper spray, an expandable baton, a Taser and a firearm.
The sock gun minimizes the risk of death and doesn’t penetrate the skin, according to former homicide detective and CP24 crime specialist Steve Ryan.
“The police do have justification in law to use lethal force if they are trying to prevent death from occurring, or serious bodily harm. That’s exactly what the police were confronted with when you have a man with an edged weapon,” he said.
“Luckily, they had access to this weapon so they were able to deploy it. They were able to get the same result by subduing the man without killing him.”
Toronto Police Association President echoed Saunders’ praise, noting that the union has sought more access to non-lethal weapons for officers.
“We were, as an association, advocating for less-than-lethal use of force options, everything from Tasers for our frontline officers to sock guns,” McCormack said.
“In this case, the sock gun was the appropriate use-of-force option. It was a less-than-lethal use of force and, to me, it had a great result considering how things could’ve gone.”
Saunders acknowledged that there has been a “gap” in providing frontline officers with tools like the sock gun to deescalate situations without lethal force, but said the service is working on improving that.
The suspect in this case was arrested and taken to hospital for treatment. The SIU has provided no further details on the nature of the investigation.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency called in to investigate whenever police are involved in a death, serious injury, or allegations of sexual assault.
