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.”
Police investigate 100 metres east of Waterloo Street on Dufferin Avenue in London, Ont., Wednesday, July 28, 2021. (Marek Sutherland / CTV News)
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
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.