Family of respected gunsmith killed by police looking for answers

Family and friends of a Norfolk County man who was shot by Toronto police earlier this month will be holding a news conference Thursday to demand answers.

Seventy-year-old Rodger Kotanko was gunned down outside his home on Port Ryerse Rd., in the area of Highway 6 and Highway 24, just outside of Port Dover on Nov. 3.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says Toronto police officers were executing a weapons-related search warrant at the home when an officer “discharged their firearm” and Kotanko was killed.

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Friends say Kotanko, who was a well-respected gunsmith, lived in the home with his wife for several years and the pair generally kept to themselves.

Kotanko’s family and their lawyer will be holding a news conference outside his home at 11 a.m. to demand answers in what they call a “tragic, dramatic police takedown.”

Suzanne Kantor, Kotanko’s sister, will speak on behalf of the family and will be joined by lawyer Michael Smitiuch.

The SIU continues its investigation and has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to the case.

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