Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared two Peel Regional Police officers of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old man at Toronto Pearson International Airport in April.
A report from the Special Investigations Unit says the officers fired their weapons to “protect themselves and others” after a man in mental distress pulled out an air pistol.
The SIU says officers were called to the departures drop-off area outside Terminal 1 at about 6:38 a.m. on April 24 by airport security, after a woman asked for help because her brother was reportedly in distress due to a combination of mental illness and drug consumption.
Taken “against his will”
The report says the woman reported that her brother was refusing to exit the vehicle to get on a flight to the Yukon, where he had previously agreed to attend a treatment program, saying he had been taken to the airport against his will.
The report says the man believed his sister was “manipulating” him and said he did not trust police.
The SIU says that as the situation escalated, the man suddenly stepped out of the vehicle and pointed his gun at the officers, prompting police to fire a total of 18 rounds.
The man collapsed and was later pronounced dead.
The gun was found to be a replica, but SIU Director Joseph Martino said officers had no way of knowing it was not real.
“There can be no doubt that the officers reasonably believed they were about to be shot,” said Martino.
Martino says the officers were under extreme stress and had only seconds to react.
He wrote that even though gunfire continued after the man had collapsed to the ground, the officers were faced with what “must have felt like a grave and mortal threat to their lives” and he was unable to conclude that they exceeded their authorized force.
The SIU has closed the case with no charges laid.
The SIU is an independent civilian agency that probes incidents where people died or were seriously injured. Investigators also review incidents where sexual assault has been alleged or a firearm was discharged at a person.
With files from The Canadian Press