Undercover cops cleared in fatal shooting of armed suspect in Markham, Ont.
Two undercover police officers have been cleared of wrongdoing after firing 45 bullets from their guns when faced with two armed suspects in Markham, Ont., killing one and seriously injuring another.
The incident took place on the morning of Nov. 25, 2022 on Eyer Drive, near Woodbine and 16th avenues.
According to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which investigates all incidents of death, injury or sexual assault involving the police, the two officers had been following the suspects in relation to a series of home invasions that took place in the area between September and November.
The suspects became aware they were being followed and pulled over, the SIU said.
One of the occupants got out of the vehicle and approached the truck the officers were driving, shouting and demanding to know who they were.
The officer driving the truck rolled down his window to answer and the suspect shattered the glass.
Another suspect then approached the driver’s side of the truck with a loaded shotgun, the SIU said, aiming the weapon at the officer’s head.
“The officer yelled “gun,” ordered (the suspect) to drop the weapon, and then began to fire his handgun numerous times through the driver’s window,” othe civilian agency said.
The second officer seated in the front passenger seat did the same thing.
Bullet defects to the Ford F150 pick-up truck. (Photo from SIU report)
Both suspects fled towards their vehicle. One of them, the SIU said, was hit in the head by a bullet and killed.
The other made it to the front passenger seat after being hit multiple times by gunshots to his body.
The SIU said both officers had emptied their magazines. One of the two cops reloaded his weapon and continued to fire, believing the second suspect to be reaching into the backseat for another weapon.
That suspect was taken into custody and transported to hospital for treatment.
A third civilian witness was also taken into custody at the scene. They were unharmed during the exchange of gunfire.
SIU Director Joseph Martino found in his analysis released Saturday there were “no reasonable grounds” that either officer committed a criminal offence in the death of one suspect and the injury of another.
“I am satisfied that (the officers) were acting to defend themselves, each other, and, in the latter stages of the exchange, other officers, from a reasonably apprehended assault at the time of the gunfire,” he wrote.
“The circumstances that prevailed at the time give credence to the officers’ evidence in this regard, each of whom said in their SIU interviews that they fired their guns fearing their lives were at stake. Confronted with a shotgun, the officers had every reason to believe that they were at imminent risk of grievous bodily harm or death. That fear, in my view, held true throughout the barrage of gunfire.”
Martino was less confident in whether the number of gunshots discharged by the officer was reasonable, saying that he was unable to provide a conclusion.
“In the cold light of hindsight, it might be said that the risk of death had receded, but it would be difficult to suggest that the risk had disappeared even from this vantage point.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.