SIU investigating after Toronto police officer fires weapon at 15-year-old boy

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after a Toronto officer fired a “less-lethal” shotgun at a 15-year-old boy armed with a weapon in the city’s downtown core.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says the interaction between the officer and the youth occurred just after midnight on Tuesday morning when officers responded to the area of King Street and York Street for a male armed with a knife.

Toronto police located the youth, and an officer fired a less-lethal shotgun at him. The suspect then fled on foot, and officers were able to track down the 15-year-old and take him into custody.

The boy was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. The SIU said three investigators and one forensic investigator had been assigned to the case.

SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette said the boy did not suffer serious injuries, but the SIU’s mandate was invoked because a police officer discharged a less-lethal shotgun, classified as a firearm.

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

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