The following is the report provided to media by Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) director Felix Cacchione following an investigation into the 2018 shooting death of Jeremy Stephens.
Independent Investigation Determines No Charges Against Summerside Police Officers
Today the Director of Nova Scotia’s independent Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) publically released his report relating to a police shooting that took place at a residence in Summerside on May 27, 2018. Felix Cacchione was appointed on May 27, 2018 by the PEI Minister of Justice to conduct the investigation into the fatal shooting.
In the early hours of May 27, the PEI 911 service received a call about a robbery with violence that had occurred in a hotel room. Summerside Police Officers attended the scene and were provided with a description of the suspect, who was known to police, as well as the make and license plate number of the vehicle used to leave the hotel. The vehicle was found some hours after the robbery located in front of a residence in Summerside.
At approximately 5:00 a.m., officers, who had been conducting surveillance of the vehicle for some time, noticed two males exit the residence and approach the vehicle. Upon seeing the police, the known suspect ran back towards the residence before police could exit their vehicles. Three officers gave chase, yelling at the male to stop and that he was under arrest. The suspect continued to run and entered the residence. The three officers entered the residence with their firearms drawn.
After searching the upper and main levels of the residence, the officers made their way to the darkened, unfinished and heavily cluttered basement. Visibility was extremely poor, and lighting limited to the small flashlights carried by the officers. The officers yelled commands for the suspect to come out if he was there, but there was no response.
One of the officers searching the area located the suspect crouching by a chair at the rear of the west side. With his firearm pointed at the suspect, the officer told him he was under arrest and ordered him to show his hands. The suspect did not comply and told the officer to “kill him”, before breaking off the arm of a nearby chair and moving away from the officer.
The suspect then moved towards the second officer with the raised wooden piece of chair in his hand. The officer ordered the suspect to drop the weapon, but he refused. The suspect repeated the words “kill me” several times as he moved closer towards the officer. Backing up, the officer almost lost his footing and fired one shot from his service weapon, hitting the suspect. Continual commands were yelled to the suspect to drop his weapon and go to the ground, but these too were ignored. The suspect then picked up a golf club and swung it at the officer’s head, missing it by less than a foot. The officer fired two more rounds.
The suspect moved away from the second officer and back towards the first officer. As the suspect approached the first officer, the officer, fearing for his safety, opened fire and discharged six rounds. The suspect stated, “I’m hit, I’m done” and fell towards the second officer’s position.
The suspect was then handcuffed, and the officers immediately began providing first aid treatment.
The officer had the right to use lethal force against the suspect if it was reasonable to believe the suspect posed a risk of death or grievous bodily harm to him or others. In the circumstances, the risk was clear. The suspect had approached to a close distance and was carrying a weapon. He had positioned himself to be able to strike the officers very quickly and in close range. In those circumstances, the officer had a right to protect himself and a duty to protect others. It was more than reasonable to consider the suspect a serious risk to his life and the lives of others.
In these circumstances there are no grounds to consider any charges against the officers. Their actions were justified at law.
The full report was delivered to the Minister on March 1 in accordance with the requirements of the statutory provisions under which Mr. Cacchione was appointed. A copy of the full report is available at http://www.policecommissioner.pe.ca/Independent-Investigations
