SIU Investigating After Police Officer Discharges ARWEN in Omemee

The province’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating after an Ontario Provincial Police officer discharged an Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) at a 19-year-old man in Omemee.

Preliminary information suggests the following:

• At approximately 1 a.m. on July 5, 2022, police officers with the City of Kawartha Lakes detachment were dispatched to a residence on James Street North for a reported break and enter.
• Upon arrival, officers saw a man who had suffered injuries and they tended to him.
• The officers also observed three men running from the residence. One of these men was located in the rear yard of a residence located on Victoria Street East. There was an interaction, and one officer discharged his ARWEN at the man.
• The man was taken into custody. At this time, it does not appear he suffered any serious injury.

Two investigators and one forensic investigator have been assigned to the case.

The SIU’s mandate was invoked because a police officer discharged an ARWEN, which is classified as a firearm. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, a firearm is defined as a barreled weapon from which any shot, bullet or other projectile can be discharged and that is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death to a person.