SIU clears Hamilton police officer who fatally shot man, 27, in February

Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared a Hamilton officer of any criminal offences following the shooting death of a 27-year-old man earlier this year.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says police were responding to a call about a stolen pickup truck that may have contained firearms on Strathearne Place near Homestead Dr. around 5:20 p.m. on Feb. 23.

An officer approached a car with two people inside that was parked behind the truck.

The SIU says the car drove towards the officer who then shot at the man who was sitting in the driver’s seat. The car travelled a short distance, went off the roadway and came to a stop in a nearby wooded area.

The driver was taken to hospital where he died shortly before 7 p.m.

READ MORE: Man dies after being shot by Hamilton police in Mount Hope, SIU investigating

Hamilton police arrested the other person who was inside the car. They did not suffer any injuries in the shooting.

SIU director Joseph Martino found “no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s death.”

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police officers that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person.