The province’s Special Investgations Unit has concluded its investigation into a police-involved fatal shooting near Port Elgin.
They say, on February 21, 2026, OPP officers were searching for a 48-year-old man suspected in a series of residential break and enters, automobile thefts, an assault and the theft of a firearm.
Officers located him near Port Elgin, but he fled in a stolen SUV.
An officer pursued the SUV as it travelled past tire deflation devices that had been deployed in the area.
The man lost control of the SUV and crashed it into a snowbank.
Armed with a sawed-off shotgun, the man approached a nearby residence, threatened the owners, and demanded their car keys.
By this time, officers had arrived at the property.
Armed with a rifle, an officer rushed towards the driver’s door of the vehicle and ordered the man to show his hands.
The man raised his empty hands.
The officer then opened the driver’s door as the man retrieved a shotgun and pointed it at the officer.
The officer fired multiple rounds from his rifle.
The man was transported to hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
he province’s Special Investigations Unit has concluded its investigation into a police-involved fatal shooting near Port Elgin.
They say, on February 21, 2026, OPP officers were searching for a 48-year-old man suspected in a series of residential break and enters, automobile thefts, an assault and the theft of a firearm.
Officers located him near Port Elgin, but he fled in a stolen SUV.
An officer pursued the SUV as it travelled past tire deflation devices that had been deployed in the area.
The man lost control of the SUV and crashed it into a snowbank.
Armed with a sawed-off shotgun, the man approached a nearby residence, threatened the owners, and demanded their car keys.
By this time, officers had arrived at the property.
Armed with a rifle, an officer rushed towards the driver’s door of the vehicle and ordered the man to show his hands.
The man raised his empty hands.
The officer then opened the driver’s door as the man retrieved a shotgun and pointed it at the officer.
The officer fired multiple rounds from his rifle.
The man was transported to hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
On his assessment of the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’ s death.
Martino said, “The evidence further establishes that the SO’s (subject official’s- a.k.a officer) choice of defensive force, namely, gunfire, constituted reasonable force. When the Complainant pointed the shotgun in the SO’s direction at point-blank range, there was no time for retreat or withdrawal or an opportunity to seek cover. Nor would less-lethal force have sufficed to address the exigencies of the situation. What was required in that moment was the stopping power of a firearm. With respect to the number of rounds fired, the eight shots were discharged in rapid succession over the course of about two seconds, and the officer stopped firing after it was apparent that the Complainant was incapacitated. On this record, I am satisfied that the SO acted reasonably from shots one through eight.”