The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has cleared a Barrie city police officer after an anti-riot weapon Enfield (ARWEN) was discharged last November at a man with a knife at an Innisfil Street home.
On Nov. 25, 2021, Barrie Police Service officers attended the residence to apprehend a 39-year-old man for psychiatric assessment under the Mental Health Act, in response to a 911 call for a person in crisis.
After being given entry into the home, the officers told the man to come out of his room. When the man did not comply, an officer used a battering ram to breach the door.
The officers saw that the man was holding a knife tied to a pole, according to the SIU.
The SIU says the man did not follow the police officers’ direction to drop the weapon and instead flailed the weapon and pointed it toward the officers.
For several hours, the officers attempted to de-escalate the situation by trying to relax and calm the man.
Attempts to apprehend the man were made using a conducted energy weapon (CEW) and an ARWEN, which is classified as a firearm.
After a standoff that lasted more than four hours, the man surrendered to police officers of his own accord. He was taken to hospital for assessment.
SIU director Joseph Martino concluded there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer who discharged the ARWEN acted unlawfully throughout his engagement with the man and, as such, there is no basis for proceeding with charges in this case.
The SIU is an independent government agency which investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.
All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians.
