MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - The Special Investigations Unit says York Regional Police officers were justified in the fatal shooting of a Thornhill man last month.
The police watchdog says eight officers responded to a 911 call on Aug. 1 concerning blood in a residence at 90 Cottonwood Court.
The officers found Kaveh Sabouri Tabatabaei, 49, and his estranged wife on the kitchen floor with multiple stab wounds.
The woman was unconscious and Tabatabaei was holding a large kitchen knife, alternately stabbing himself and swinging it at the officers.
After numerous attempts to disarm Tabatabaei using non-lethal means in order to reach the woman, two of the officers shot Tabatabaei.
The woman could not be revived and was declared dead at the scene and Tabatabaei also died at the scene as a result of a gunshot wound to the heart.
The SIU found the officers were justified in entering the residence without a warrant because they had reasonable grounds to suspect they were preventing imminent bodily harm or death.
"The officers were confronted with a man who had already caused very serious wounds to his estranged wife, and continued to wield a large knife, harming himself and threatening any officer who came close to him," said SIU director Ian Scott.
The officers tried a series of less than lethal force options and were unsuccessful due to no fault of their own, Scott said.
