Ottawa·Deadly Force

A look at police killings in Ottawa and Gatineau from 2000 to present

​CBC News has compiled a database of direct altercations with police that led to civilian deaths in the National Capital Region from Jan. 1, 2000, to present.
The most recent fatal police shooting in Ottawa happened Feb. 25 near the Island Park Metro. Since 2000, there have been seven other direct interactions between police and civilians that resulted in civilian death in Ottawa, and three in Gatineau. (Ryan Tumilty/CBC)

This story is part of Deadly Force, a CBC News investigation into police-involved fatalities in Canada.


​CBC News has compiled a database of direct altercations with police that led to civilian deaths in the National Capital Region from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2017.

There have been eight such incidents in Ottawa police jurisdiction and three in Gatineau police jurisdiction during that time.

Nationally, the CBC Deadly Force investigation has revealed most Canadians killed in police encounters have mental health or substance abuse issues, and that in some regions there are disproportionately high numbers of black and Indigenous victims.

In Ottawa, two of the eight people who died in altercations with police were black and two had mental illness. In Gatineau, all three victims were white and one was suffering mental distress.

The race of two Ottawa victims was unavailable and Ottawa police refused to provide it, saying they only disclose the race of wanted suspects and missing persons.

Ontario's police watchdog, the SIU, said it does not collect data on race in its investigations.

Information on mental health and addiction was also unavailable for six of the 11 victims in the National Capital Region.