Toronto cop charged after shooting left man seriously injured
CBC
A Toronto police officer is facing charges in connection with the shooting of a man in a northwest city park earlier this year, according to the province's police watchdog.
In a news release Friday, Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said Const. Andrew Davis is facing the following criminal charges:
Davis is required to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice at on Oct. 3.
The SIU said its investigation found that on Feb. 27, officers were called to a park in the area of Black Creek Drive and Trethewey Drive for a report of a man with a knife. Two officers discharged Tasers at the man, while another officer fired his gun twice.
The man, 31, was taken to hospital with serious injuries, the SIU said. No other injuries were reported.
The injured man was later identified as Devon Fowlin.
Weeks after he was injured, Fowlin spoke out about the incident, alleging police did not try to de-escalate the situation before firing at him.
Fowlin said he was walking his dog that morning with a knife in his hand, calling it "the knife I cook and live with inside of my vehicle." His lawyer at the time said he had been experiencing homelessness.
"I also do pray, you know, with it, so I was doing a prayer that very same morning," Fowlin said, adding that no one else was in the park around him.
Fowlin told reporters he raised his arm while holding the knife a few times when in the area, and that the third time he did so, he saw a Honda Civic being driven by a police officer pull into the park's parking lot.
As the officer approached him, Fowlin said he tried to walk away to get his dog inside of his own vehicle.
It was then, he said, that two police SUVs pulled into the parking lot, blocked off his vehicle, and five officers got out and lined up side by side.
Fowlin said the officers pointed their guns at him "right away."
"They shouted one command, and immediately I felt a shot, and right after I just heard multiple shots going off," Fowlin said.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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