SIU investigating after officers stun, shoot suspect holding knives
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating after a man was shot by police when he allegedly charged officers with knives in his hands.
Around 9:30 Tuesday night, police responded to a call about a man with knives in the 300-block of Dufferin Avenue in London, Ont.
Once on scene, the male suspect was located by the officers. The male then allegedly ran directly at the officers while brandishing knives.
As a result, the SIU says two officers discharged stun guns while a third discharged his firearm, causing serious but not life-threatening injuries. The man was being treated at Victoria Hospital for his injuries.
Nigel Richards was on a nearby balcony and heard what happened.
“We were out on his balcony, we heard a pop, pop, pop and thought it was fireworks, but nothing, no nothing came up, no lights or anything, and we didn’t really think anything. We heard some yelling and then next thing you know there was sirens everywhere, coming from every direction...Just chaos, with all the police, ambulances everywhere.”
The SIU says London police were responding to a domestic disturbance when the incident occurred.
Murray Faulkner, a former London police chief, says those kinds of calls can be unpredictable.
“It’s a very, very volatile situation, especially if the two disputing partners are in the same building.”
London police statistics released in March show use-of-force reports have been on the rise over the past five years, except for a big drop in 2019.
Faulkner says assaults against police officers have been increasing along with armed confrontations.
“As well as, unfortunately, assaults against police have been increasing. So then you compound that with the fact that in London, in 2020, there was about 62 more cases that police encountered someone who had a firearm, in which they had to draw their firearm. And there was around 27 more cases of individuals that were confronting police with knives.”
The SIU is asking anyone who may have information about the incident to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529 and anyone with video evidence is asked to upload it through the SIU website.
- With files from CTV News London's Marek Sutherland and Tammy Heisel
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.