SiRT clears police in case where man shot in head with own gun

The province’s Serious Incident Response Team says Halifax Regional Police officers were not at fault in a case where a fleeing suspect shot himself in the head.

Around 4:45 a.m. on February 9, 2014, police in the Pizza Corner area saw a man who matched the description of a suspect wanted for firing a gun in the downtown area about a half hour earlier.

When police approached the 25-year-old and his two companions, the paired stopped, but the man took off down Blowers Street, then turned onto Barrington.

While officers were chasing him, the man suddenly dropped to the ground after a gun he had been carrying in his waist band when off.

The Medical Examiner determined the man had levels of alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and other substances in his system and the close range accidental gunshot that hit him in his right ear was the cause of death.

SiRT has determined the officers had reasonable grounds to try and detain the man and committed no criminal offences.

The firearms of all three officers that were in pursuit were examined and found not to have been fired.

Video evidence confirmed they had no contact with him before he was shot by his own gun.

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