Ottawa police officer fires anti-riot weapon at hospitalized man, Ontario SIU investigating

Special Investigations Unit. (File image)

Ontario's police watchdog says it is investigating what led to the discharge of an Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) at a 26-year-old man in an Ottawa hospital Wednesday evening.

The man was apprehended by an Ontario Provincial Police officer under the Mental Health Act, and taken to the hospital on Tuesday, the province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said in a news release Thursday.

On Wednesday, at around 7:30 p.m., hospital staff called Ottawa police, reporting that he became violent. When police arrived on scene, the SIU says, an officer fired his ARWEN in an attempt to get him under control.

The hospitalized man did not sustain any serious injuries, says the SIU.

"The SIU's mandate was invoked because a police officer discharged an ARWEN, which is classified as a firearm. 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," the SIU said in the release.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police officers that may have resulted in the use of a firearm, death, serious injury or sexual assault.

Under the SIU Act, the agency must publicly report the results of its investigations. It must also consider whether the officer "has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation," and "depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid."