A Brantford Police officer who fired a conducted energy weapon at a man stabbing himself with a knife has been cleared of wrongdoing by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit.
The officer was one of three called to a home on Raleigh Street in April.
According to the SIU, police were called to the residence when a 29-year-old man inside allegedly became abusive and hostile toward another occupant.
When police arrived, the man was in the basement with a hypodermic needle in his arm.
He allegedly threatened to inject air from the needle if police approached him.
Eventually, the man ascended a staircase to the kitchen of the home and agreed to let paramedics treat him if he could have some food first.
He then opened a kitchen drawer, the SIU says, and pulled out a knife – with which he started stabbing himself in the neck.
At that point, the CEW was fired and the man was taken to hospital to be treated for serious neck injuries.
“The officers did what they could to placate him and bring the matter to a safe resolution,” acting SIU director Joseph Martino said in a press release.
“It was only when the man forced the issue by retrieving a kitchen knife and using it to stab himself that they could wait no longer.”
The officer’s actions may have saved the 29-year-old’s life, Martino said.
Two police officers who witnessed the incident were interviewed as part of the SIU investigation.
The officer who fired the CEW did not agree to speak with the SIU.
