Arab Canada News
News
Published: July 12, 2024
The Ontario Police Watchdog said it is investigating the reason that led to the deployment of the ARWEN riot control weapon on a 26-year-old man at Ottawa Hospital on Wednesday evening.
The province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) stated in a press release on Thursday that an Ontario Provincial Police officer arrested the man under the Mental Health Act and transported him to the hospital on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, around 7:30 PM, hospital staff called Ottawa police and reported that he had become violent. The Special Investigations Unit says that when police arrived at the scene, one officer fired his ARWEN in an attempt to control him.
The Special Investigations Unit states that the man who entered the hospital did not sustain any serious injuries.
The mandate of the Special Investigations Unit was activated because one of the police officers discharged his ARWEN, which is classified as a firearm. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, a firearm is defined as any weapon that can discharge a shot, bullet, or other projectile and is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death to a person.
The Special Investigations Unit is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police officers that may have resulted in the use of a firearm or death, serious injury, or sexual assault.
Under the SIU Act, the agency must publicly report the findings of its investigations. It must also consider whether the officer "committed a criminal offense in relation to the incident under investigation," and "depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge against the officer where there are grounds to do so, or close the file" without laying any charges.
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