SIU investigates after police officers fatally shoot axe-wielding man

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating the death of an axe-wielding man who was shot by two officers in southwestern Ontario.

Emergency crews responded to a fire at a home on Simcoe St. in Exeter around 6:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Police were confronted by a man who came out of the home carrying an axe.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says there was some type of encounter and two officers shot the 44-year-old man multiple times.

He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The agency has assigned four investigators and three forensic investigators to probe the incident.

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.