Officers 'trained to keep their fingers off the trigger,' gun expert says at manslaughter trial

The third day of the judge-alone trial of a Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer charged in a fatal shooting heard testimony from a gun expert and an expert in firearm training procedures and policies at OPP.

The trial began Monday at the Ontario Court of Justice in Chatham. Const. Sean O'Rourke is charged with manslaughter in the death of Nicholas Edward Grieves, a 24-year-old Windsor resident and member of Six Nations of the Grand River. He has pleaded not guilty. 

On July 7, 2021, OPP responded to a call about a gasoline theft at a gas station along Highway 401 in Dutton. Officers located the vehicle believed to be involved travelling westbound on the highway and followed it. Soon enough, Grieves's car swerved a couple of times and ended up in the ditch.

So far, Crown witnesses have testified that Const. O'Rourke had both of his hands on a firearm pointed at the vehicle and he was heard saying that his firearm went off.

Judy Chin from the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto, who was qualified Wednesday as a firearms expert, had examined O'Rourke's Glock 17M.

"The gun was working fine," she testified.

Chin said that she had performed multiple tests on the gun and it was working as it should have been with no mechanical or structural damage. She explained that the firearm has three safety features — trigger safety, fire pin safety and drop safety. 

"All three safeties should be deactivated for the firearm to discharge," noting that the trigger has to be pulled to fire the weapon.

Crown Attorney Jason Nicol asked Chin whether the gun can "be fired without pulling the trigger."

"For this firearm, the trigger must be pulled. It doesn't have to be a person, but the trigger must be pulled," she replied.

'They are trained to keep their fingers off the trigger:' OPP firearm expert

 OPP Inspector Jason Oxby also testified as an expert in firearm training procedures and policies at OPP.

Oxby told the court that OPP officers are trained every year and are taught that before patrols, they should check their firearms to see if they are working properly.

So far, it has been established that it was dark — almost pitch black — during the time of the incident in the wee hours of that July day.

Nicol asked Oxby about low-light training. He replied that officers are trained in artificially simulated environments to work under varying lights. Use of flashlights is part of that training.

"Obviously, police work 24-7, so roughly half of their time will be spent in no light or low light," he said.

Khehra asked Oxby about the weapon-mounted light, which is used to light up the subject, saying even though the trigger hasn't been pulled, the gun can be kept pointing at the subject to keep them illuminated.

Oxby told the court that the "lack of illumination" can be the reason to point the firearm at them.

Khehra also walked Oxby through his past testimony where he admits "that an error can be made" where instead of pressing the light switch, the trigger can get pulled in those low-light scenarios.

The court also heard about the provincial use of force model, which lays out the circumstances in which officers can draw their weapons.

Oxby said officers can do so when there are reasonable grounds that there is a risk to safety.

"Keep your fingers off the trigger….. Until you intend to fire," Oxby recounted different safety procedures, noting officers are trained to keep fingers outside the trigger guard.

"They are trained to keep their fingers off the trigger."

O'Rourke, who joined the Chatham-Kent OPP detachment in 2004, has been suspended with pay since being charged by the unit in 2022.

The trial, which resumes Thursday with the defence's case, is expected to last two weeks.