Windsor police cleared in standoff that ended in the suspect's death
The 34-year-old man was found dead inside the garage
No charges will be laid in the case of a 34-year-old man found dead in his garage after a police stand-off at a Windsor home on Betts Avenue Sept. 15, 2017, the Special Investigations Unit has ruled.
The man was found with a gun in his lap and he died from "a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head," SIU director Tony Loparco wrote in the report.
Amherstburg police first arrived at the Windsor home to investigate a shooting that left a 31-year-old man injured the night before in the town on Sandwich Street North.
The victim in today's shooting is now in stable condition recovering in Detroit area Hospital. Investigation is continuing
—@AburgPoliceUpon arrival, officers learned the victim had identified the man inside the residence as the shooter.
At around 11:30 a.m., Windsor police then arrived. The team leader instructed the house be surrounded and officers tried to persuade the suspect to come outside.
According to the SIU report, the lead officer phoned the man 20 times, and he left one voicemail and one text message. Police also used a loudspeaker to address the man, saying they had grounds to arrest him for attempted murder.
Video footage showed the officer saying, "The house is completely surrounded. We need to speak with you. Answer the door or answer your phone."
However, the phone calls were never returned and at no time did the man leave the home.
Officers contacted the man's family members, who believed he was suicidal and depressed. They also said he had substance abuse problems and had gone to the hospital for mental health reasons days before.
Officers are calling for someone in the house to "Come out with your hands up." <a href="https://t.co/yT6TQhQYSz">pic.twitter.com/yT6TQhQYSz</a>
—@DanTaekemaOne of family members told police she had once found the man sleeping in the garage with a shotgun.
Roughly two hours after the standoff began, police heard a gunshot from the garage. They attempted to open the door to send in a camera scout, but were unsuccessful.
An hour after officers first heard the gunshot, they used equipment borrowed from the fire department to pry open the garage door.
The man was found on a couch with the gun in his lap, and an obvious trauma to his head.
SIU decision
Loparco said it's clear the man had died as a result of a self-inflicted injury.
There is also no reasonable grounds to charge officers with criminal negligence, said Loparco, because they did not behave in a manner that was reckless with disregard for the lives and safety of others.
He said the deceased was an armed man "intent on suicide," and trying to get inside the garage quicker may have resulted in serious injury or death to officers.
"It would be speculative to suggest that if the police had attempted to breach the garage door more quickly, that the result would have been different," Loparco said.