Halton officer who wounded accused in Annex lawyer's shooting won't be charged

The Halton police officer who wounded a man charged with shooting a prominent Toronto defence lawyer last fall will not be charged, the Special Investigations Unit announced Tuesday.

SIU director Tony Loparco said in a news release that "there are no reasonable grounds" to lay charges against the officer following an investigation.

The SIU is called in when a civilian is injured or killed during an interaction with police, or when there are allegations of sexual assault against an officer.

It was last Sept. 20 that defence lawyer Randall Barrs was shot outside his Yorkville law office. Grayson Delong, 51, is facing 15 charges, including attempted murder, in connection with the shooting.

• Randall Barrs, Toronto lawyer shot in September, critical of police response
• Grayson Delong, accused in Annex shooting, facing 15 charges

According to the SIU news release issued Tuesday, a team of Halton police officers was monitoring Delong, who was a suspect in a string of property crimes in Burlington. The officers who were tailing him were all dressed in civilian clothes and driving unmarked vehicles.

Officers had been following accused

The officers started following Delong in Brampton on the morning of Sept. 20. They followed Delong "over the next several hours" as he made his way into downtown Toronto.

Delong parked on Admiral Road, according to the release, and got out of his car wearing a blonde wig and a reflective construction vest. He walked to a nearby park, where he stayed for about an hour. The Halton officers became concerned that he was preparing to commit a robbery and called Toronto police, the release says.

Around 3 p.m., Delong got back into his car and drove to 23 Bedford Road, the release says.

The subject officer went into the stairwell of a nearby building that gave him a clear view of Delong's car.

Suddenly, Delong got out of the car and ran up behind a man who was standing behind a vehicle in the driveway of 23 Bedford Road. As the male turned around, he was shot twice in the left leg.

"Hearing gunshots, followed by shouting and screaming, the subject officer ran onto Bedford Road and saw Mr. Delong re-enter his vehicle while carrying a dark object in his right hand which he believed was a gun," the SIU release says.

The subject officer, standing on the east-side sidewalk, took out his gun and began walking toward Delong's car. As he pointed his gun at it, he yelled "police" three times. The SIU release says Delong started to drive away, appeared to shoot out the driver's side window, and then tried to continue driving south on Bedford.

The subject officer fired at the car three times.

Other officers in the Halton surveillance team boxed in Delong's car and brought it to a stop.

When they approached the car, they found Delong lying across the front passenger seat, suffering from two gunshot wounds. They administered first aid until paramedics arrived. The officers also found a firearm on the passenger seat, the release says.

Suspect could be considered 'arrestable'

"There is no question that the subject officer was acting in the course of his duties when he fired his gun at the fleeing Mr. Delong," Loparco said in the release.

"The question that I have to consider is whether or not the subject officer exceeded the ambits of justifiable force in the circumstances, the applicable section of the Criminal Code being section 25(4)."

Loparco said based on the investigation — which included interviews with four witness officers from Halton police and 17 civilians, as well as a review of the notes taken by several Toronto officers — "all five requirements of section 25(4) are satisfied."

The subject officer had reasonable grounds to believe Delong had just shot someone and was therefore "arrestable," Loparco said. He also noted that Delong was trying to flee the scene, and that the subject officer believed Delong was a threat to himself, other officers and the public.

"Finally, there was no less violent mechanism that could have been used to affect the arrest," Loparco said. "It is also noteworthy that the subject officer only fired three times, and held his fire after noticing that Mr. Delong's vehicle abruptly jerked on the roadway. The subject officer's actions in the circumstances were reasonable, responsive, measured and thoughtful." 

Loparco also said that he had to consider whether the Halton police surveillance team's "inactions, or omissions" could be considered criminal negligence causing bodily harm with respect to Delong's injuries.

But after reviewing the team's assignment and their works, Loparco did not find reasonable grounds to lay such a charge.