The province's Special Investigations Unit has closed the file on its investigation into a 2023 incident that left a Cambridge man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds fired by a police officer.
SIU director Joseph Martino found no reasonable grounds to believe a Waterloo Regional Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with shooting and seriously injuring a 34-year-old man on October 15, 2023.
That was when Waterloo regional police officers were dispatched to an address near Sunnyhill Road and Franklin Boulevard, following a report of a disturbance.
A woman at the residence told 911 that a man had entered her home, assaulted her and was in a struggle with another occupant of the home.
When police arrived they were greeted by one of the residents at the front door while the man was still inside. Police said the intruder grabbed a knife and approached the officers.
One officer drew his firearm and ordered the man to drop the knife as the two residents of the home retreated inside.
The man continued his approach toward officers after he was repeatedly told to drop the knife.
Video footage of the incident captured audio of the man telling officers, “You have to do it, you must, you have to do it…I ask you for justice.”
Officers were on the driveway when the man stepped onto a low concrete retaining wall and ran along it towards the officers saying "shoot, shoot" before he was "met with a volley of gunfire."
Six shots were fired, knocking the man to the ground.
When he rose up again, knife still in hand, the officer fired an additional three rounds. About 14 seconds later, the officer fired his last round at the man as he once again attempted to get onto his feet.
The man remained on the ground after the tenth discharge.
One bullet struck the back of a police cruiser that was parked on the street near the driveway.
Officers handcuffed the man, packed his wounds with dressings, and waited for paramedics to arrive.
The man suffered multiple gunshot injuries, including wounds to his chest, abdomen and both legs.
There was a delay in interviewing the complainant due to his medical condition and the fact he wanted to consult with counsel first.
"I am satisfied that the officer fired his weapon intending to protect himself, and very possibly his colleagues, from a reasonably apprehended knife attack at the hands of the Complainant," wrote Martino in his decision.
"I am also satisfied that the evidence falls short of reasonably suggesting the gunfire was unwarranted."
Martino called the situation "highly volatile and dynamic," noting there was a risk the man could have used the weapon to turn on the residents of the home if the officers had retreated to a safe distance instead of shooting.
"In light of these considerations, I am unable to reasonably conclude that the (officer) acted unreasonably when he chose to comport himself as he did."
The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an official where there has been death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault.
