Police used a Taser on a 15-year-old Oshawa boy. Now the SIU is investigating

The province’s police watchdog has launched an investigation after Durham Regional Police used a Taser on a 15-year-old boy in Oshawa.

Officers were called to a home on Simcoe Street just before 5:00 p.m. on Sunday for reports of a family disturbance.

Police responded to the call along with a mental health officer and members of the tactical unit.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says officers attempted to negotiate with the teen before an altercation broke out.

One of the officers then proceeded to fire a less-lethal firearm at the teen and then used a Taser.

He was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to a hospital for assessment, but was not seriously injured.

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

Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, a firearm is defined as “a barreled weapon from which any shot, bullet or other projectile can be discharged and that is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death to a person.”