SIRT-NL has determined that criminal charges are not warranted following the conclusion of another investigation into a serious incident involving a man who was shot and injured by police using a so-called “less lethal” shotgun.

The Serious Incident Response Team was notified by the RNC in November about a police operation the previous August in which a man was seriously injured. Police were called to a home in Mount Pearl in August of 2021 following a complaint that a man had threatened his neighbour with a weapon.

The suspect was inside the home when police arrived and the officers had grounds to arrest the man who was on conditions which had been breached. He refused to come out of the home and police applied for and were granted a warrant to enter the home.

The officers attempted for several hours to negotiate with the man to surrender but he threw a construction stapler at them, causing minor injuries to one of the officers.

SIRT determined that given the nature of the complaint, officers had grounds to arrest the person and that de-escalation attempts had been made for some time. SIRT determined that the use of a conducted energy weapon was unsuccessful, and only then did the officer deploy the “less lethal” shotgun. SIRT says the officer was justified in his actions and no criminal charge will be laid.