KITCHENER -- The province's police watchdog has cleared police in Cambridge of any wrongdoing in the death of the 37-year-old man who was suspected of killing Helen Schaller.
Schaller, 58, was shot in broad daylight in a Preston parking lot in the area of King Street East and Church Street on April 17. She later died of her injuries.
A week and a half later, police tracked the unnamed suspect to a wooded area behind a Cambridge gas station, where they found the vehicle the suspect was driving partly submerged in water on a muddy trail.
The SIU report shows that police began moving in to investigate the suspect when he fled.
"As they neared to within about 50 metres of the Complainant, a number of officers called out ordering him to stop, raise his hands and get to the ground," the report reads in part.
"Within a matter of seconds, the Complainant dropped what he was carrying and ran in a southerly direction."
A pursuing officer then released her dog and as it caught up to the suspect, the report says that police heard a single gunshot.
The man had shot himself in the head.
He was taken to hospital and was pronounced dead at 10:33 a.m. the following day.
The SIU says that the offence for consideration in this case was criminal negligence causing death, but the organization ruled that it did not apply to the circumstances.
"On the aforementioned record, I am unable to find fault with the law enforcement exercise that culminated in the Complainant’s self-inflicted death," the report goes on.
The report is dated Nov. 25. The decision was announced in a news release on Dec. 11.
