SIU, OPP investigating after Niagara officer shot by fellow officer
Posted November 30, 2018 3:58 am.
Last Updated November 30, 2018 3:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Two separate investigations are underway into an altercation between two Niagara regional police officers that sent one to hospital, where he is in stable condition.
Provincial police and the Special Investigations Unit, Ontario’s police watchdog, are investigating the incident that happened Thursday at a rural intersection in Pelham, about 20 kilometres west of Niagara Falls.
The Special Investigations Unit says the two officers were investigating a collision that had happened two days prior when they became involved in an “altercation” around noon on Thursday. One officer “discharged his firearm multiple times,” the SIU explained in a release.
Spokeswoman Monica Hudon told reporters Thursday evening that a firearm was discharged and one officer was hit.
The victim – a 52-year-old man with 28 years on the force – was taken to a local hospital, then airlifted to a facility in Hamilton.
“In the spirit of transparency, I have asked the Ontario Provincial Police to determine if there is any criminal culpability outside of the SIU’s scope,” Niagara regional police Chief Bryan MacCulloch said in the statement.
“The days and weeks ahead will be trying ones for the NRPS family and the community we serve,” MacCulloch said. “I ask for your support for our members and all those involved.”
Hudon said the SIU had assigned 11 investigators, including three forensic specialists, to the case. She said it’s very early in the investigation and there have been no arrests.
She urged anyone with information — particularly anyone with video evidence — to contact the SIU.
The SIU is an arm’s-length agency that is automatically called in to investigate reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or an allegation of sexual assault.
