Halifax police officer cleared of criminal wrongdoing in robbery suspect shooting - BERITAJA

An investigation by the constabulary watchdog successful Nova Scotia has recovered “no reasonable grounds” to judge a Halifax constabulary serviceman committed a criminal offence when he changeable a robbery fishy successful January. 

The incident happened connected Jan. 17 aft Halifax Regional Police responded to reports of 2 robberies astatine NSLC locations downtown.

“In some robberies the fishy sprayed a chemic irritant earlier leaving the store,” a merchandise from the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) notes.

According to the study from the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT)’s director, Erin E. Nauss, 2 officers recovered the antheral fishy adjacent the area of Quinpool Road and Quingate Place.

Through interviews pinch aggregate officers and civilian witnesses, SIRT concludes that 1 of the officers discharged a taser, which struck the suspect, but it was “not effective.”

The study states the SO (subject officer) told SiRT the AP (affected party) aliases fishy said, “Is that each you got?” and “ripped retired the taser prongs and started to tally westbound connected Quinpool Road.”

SiRT says the fishy had a weapon — shown successful a photograph arsenic a ample butcher weapon — successful his waistband, which he pulled out.

According to the report, a video taken by a civilian witnesser shows the fishy “lunging astatine officers.”

“Officers could beryllium heard yelling ‘On the ground,’ and the AP lunges towards the officers. The 2nd clip officers are heard commanding him to get connected the ground, you could perceive sirens successful the background,” the study says the video shows.

“The AP again motions successful the guidance of officers. An serviceman yells: ‘Knife, knife, knife.’ The AP’s near limb was reaching toward the beforehand of his body. An serviceman yells again for him to get connected the ground. Two constabulary cars arrive, followed by a third, and they container the AP successful adjacent to the Superstore building. The AP could beryllium observed making his measurement toward the SO, and 3 shots are fired.”

The study says the fishy did not want to supply a connection to SiRT but consented to the merchandise of his aesculapian records, “which confirmed that he sustained 3 gunshot wounds: 2 to his near chest/abdomen, and 1 to his near arm.” The man underwent room and survived.

“At the clip of the incident the AP was connected a merchandise bid and was prohibited from being wrong 5 metres of an NSLC and from carrying knives. (Director’s note: records bespeak the officers were not alert of this until aft the incident),” the study adds.

In its conclusion, SiRT says the truth the man had a weapon and ran towards the taxable serviceman was a “real and perchance deadly threat.”

“It was clear the AP was consenting and prepared to usage the knife. The AP had besides utilized a sensory irritant doubly starring up to the relationship pinch police, which could beryllium debilitating and let personification to entree an officer’s work loop and equipment,” the study says.

SiRT’s head besides notes the AP had “been convulsive pinch constabulary successful the past,” which the taxable serviceman knew.

“Based connected a reappraisal of the facts and the law, I americium satisfied that the SO acted reasonably to extremity a awesome threat. The circumstantial grounds supports the cognition of the SO that location were reasonable grounds to judge the threat to his ain life and the lives of different officers and civilians was astatine risk,” concludes Nauss.

In the days aft the shooting, Halifax Regional Police said the 37-year-old man was facing 2 counts of robbery, 2 counts of battle of a bid serviceman and 3 counts of possession of a vulnerable weapon, on pinch different offences.