SIU investigating after officers stun, shoot suspect holding knives

London, Ont. -

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