The scene has been cleared, but the investigation could take months to sort out how one man was killed during an incident with Ontario Provincial Police.
The Province’s Special Investigation Unit was called in after a 43-year-old man from the local area died on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 after a interaction with police east of Castleton on County Road 25 by Stoney Lonesome Road in Cramahe Township.
SIU stated that at approximately 10:15 a.m. on April 6, 2021, Ontario Provincial Police officers were dispatched to the area of County Road 25 and Tobacco Road after an individual reported that a man was sitting in his parked car and yelling at people.
Soon after officers arrived and located the man, the man approached the officers and was in possession of a baseball bat. The man struck one of the cruisers.
The man then got into his vehicle and drove towards the officers.
Soon after, the man exited the vehicle again. An interaction ensued and police deployed an Anti Riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) and Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW). When those proved to be ineffective, two officers discharged their firearms at the man.
Despite attempts by Emergency Medical Services to treat the man at the scene, he succumbed to his injuries.
The SIU completed their investigation on Tuesday and the scene was turned over to OPP.
Given the time of day, police held the scene overnight and started their investigation on Wednesday morning.
A number of Technical Traffic Collision investigators from across the region were involved along with Forensics officers.
During the day, officers took photos of the scene from the ground and also using a drone, downloaded data from each of the vehicles at the scene, took measurements of the scene along with other investigative tools.
A OPP Command Post was also set-up near the scene.
Ten, Northumberland OPP vehicles along with a pickup truck involved in the incident were at the scene for approximately 32-hours for the investigation.
Today’s Northumberland learned that a man was pacing around a nearby house and officers were trying to control the situation when the man got into a black pickup truck and it turned into a pursuit.
At the scene on Wednesday, three police vehicles along with the black pickup truck were damaged.
A black cruiser had damage to the rear driver’s side and appeared to have been pushed given the gravel build-up under the tires.
The black pickup was beside the cruiser and had damage to the front of the vehicle which may have come in contact with the cruiser.
A Tahoe OPP SUV appears to have collided with the black pickup truck and both vehicles went into the south ditch.
The passenger side door was open on the black pickup truck, but the driver’s door was not open.
A police cruiser nearby had the driver’s side window smashed, possibly by a baseball bat but that is unconfirmed.
The scene was cleared from County Road 25 at approximately 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Three investigators and three forensic investigators have been assigned to the case. Two subject officials and 12 witness officials have been designated. The post-mortem is scheduled for tomorrow in Kingston.
The SIU is urging anyone who may have information about this investigation to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529. The Unit is also urging anyone who may have any video evidence related to this incident to upload that video through the SIU website.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
