Courtesy - SIU

A Thunder Bay Police Service Officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an SIU investigation.

On March 1st city police received a report of a man holding what appeared to be a pistol in a parking lot at the Thunder Center in the intercity area.

The man refused to drop the weapon, leading an officer to shoot five foam bullets at the man, which is what triggered the investigation.

The man dropped the weapon, and it was identified as an air pistol and he was arrested.

SIU Director Martino said the police could not have been certain it was not a real weapon, so they were entitled to assume it was a lethal pistol.

The Special Investigations Unit can investigate the actions of officials like police officers, special constables of the Niagara Parks Commission or peace officers under the Legislative Assembly Act, that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault, or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

According to the SIU, “A person sustains a ‘serious injury’ for purposes of the SIU’s jurisdiction if they: sustain an injury as a result of which they are admitted to hospital; suffer a fracture to the skull or to a limb, rib or vertebra; suffer burns to a significant proportion of their body; lose any portion of their body; or, as a result of an injury, experience a loss of vision or hearing. In addition, a “serious injury” means any other injury sustained by a person that is likely to interfere with the person’s health or comfort and is not transient or trifling in nature.”