Man seriously injured after being shot by two Niagara police officers

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after a 56-year-old man was shot by two Niagara Regional Police Service officers in St. Catharines.

Police were called to a home on Rykert St. around 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday for reports of a man with a knife.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says officers located the man and there was “an interaction.”

They say two officers discharged their firearms and the man was struck multiple times.

He was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

In the hours after the shooting on Tuesday night, PC. Phil Gavin spoke to the media and said there had been an altercation prior to the officers firing their weapons.

A neighbour who lives across the street from the victim told CHCH News he was sitting in his car when he saw the police cruisers come rushing down the street.

“My neighbour, who I’ve met a couple of times, was walking up his driveway with his hands out at his sides,” said Duke Willis. “The guy took maybe four or five steps and the cops pulled their guns and shot him three times- bang, bang, bang! He hit the ground, bang! A fourth shot in the back.”

Wilson says he believes his neighbour suffers from some “psychological issues.” He said the 56-year-old man lived at home with his retired mother.

The SIU has assigned five investigators and three forensic investigators to look into the incident. “At this time, two subject officers and three witness officers have been designated,” said the SIU in a news release.

The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.