KITCHENER -- The province’s police watchdog has cleared two officers in a fatal shooting that killed in Indigenous man with ties to Waterloo Region.
Greg Ritchie was shot dead by police in Ottawa’s Elmvale Plaza January 31 of last year.
He was a member of the Saugeen First Nation who came to Waterloo Region to learn the sacred fire teachings.
He became a fire keeper at Conestoga College’s Pow Wows. Those who knew him said he lived off the land and promoted his culture by carrying Aboriginal artifacts.
He had one of the artifacts on him the day he was fatally shot.
A Special Investigations Unit report details that a bus driver called the police about a white man dressed in black with a knife hidden under his jacket walking around the plaza.
The first officer who arrived found Ritchie, tried to speak to him, and was then threatened by him when he grew frustrated, according to the report.
The officer used a stun gun twice before he reportedly turned back to the officer while swinging his weapon. It was then that both officers fired their guns.
Ritchie was taken to hospital with three gunshot wounds and later pronounced dead.
The director of the SIU concluded that neither officer committed a criminal offence and that their actions were taken under reasonable apprehension to protect the officer.
Ritchie’s family says the report is vague and has left them with more questions. They add that they’re meeting with the SIU soon, but really want a better way to train officers to deal with people suffering from mental health issues.
The family has hired a lawyer and is pushing for a coroner’s inquest so that future situations don’t end the same way.
At the time of his death, Aboriginal leaders called for change in police relations with Indigenous people.
