News Release

News Release

No Criminal Charges to Issue in Connection with ARWEN Discharge at Man in Renfrew

Case Number: 25-PFP-136   

Other News Releases Related to Case 25-PFP-136

SIU Investigating After OPP Officer Shoots Less Lethal Firearm at Man in Renfrew

Mississauga, ON (1 August, 2025) ---
In the afternoon of April 10, 2025, OPP officers set out to locate a 23-year-old man who had cut off his GPS ankle monitor and had fled his home in Renfrew. The officers received information that the man might be in possession of a knife, and that he had threatened to harm a family member. Officers found the man hiding between two homes. Shortly after a struggle ensued between the man and an officer, another officer fired an Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield projectile at close range into the chest of the man. The man’s hands were handcuffed behind the back. He did not suffer any serious injury in the incident. On his assessment of the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the discharge of the ARWEN.

Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (municipal, regional and provincial police officers, police officers with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must

  • consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
  • depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
  • publicly report the results of its investigations

Lisez ce communiqué en français.

Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES