The death of a man who was shot by Ottawa police more than seven years ago will now be the subject of a coroner’s inquest .
The inquest is mandatory under the Coroners Act, Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion, the regional supervising coroner, said in a Sept. 14 announcement, adding that details on the date and venue would be provided at a later date.
Gregory Ritchie , a 30-year-old Indigenous man, died on Jan. 31, 2019, following an interaction with officers from the Ottawa Police Service at the Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre.
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding Ritchie’s death, and the jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing further deaths, the announcement said.
Reporting at the time by the Ottawa Citizen said police officers were called to the mall around 8 a.m. in response to reports that someone dressed in black was seen entering the building with a knife in his hand.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit , which investigates police-involved deaths, said two officers encountered the man on mall property “and there was an interaction. At least one police officer discharged his firearm and the man was struck.”
The man was taken to The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic campus, where he was pronounced dead. One of the two officers involved in the incident was injured and was treated in hospital. The other officer was taken to hospital for assessment. Both were later released.
In February 2020, slightly more than a year after the incident, an SIU report said director Joseph Martino had determined there were “no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against any of the officers in relation to Mr. Ritchie’s death.”
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