SHOULD COPS SHOOT OTHER COPS?

In the “normal” course of violence, our thoughts might turn immediately to shootings by gang-bangers, street crime thugs, drug turf wars or a revenge hit. But the shooting I am writing about in this article is about a police officer who apparently deliberately shot a fellow police officer. This is indeed a rare occurrence.

Both men have been identified in multiple media reports. Thirteen individuals, including the injured officer, have been designated as witness officers, meaning they are compelled to submit to SIU interviews and turn over their notes.

In the Province of Ontario in Canada, the SIU (Special Investigation Unit) is an arm’s-length watchdog that is automatically called in to investigate reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or an allegation of sexual assault anywhere in Ontario.

A police officer was shot multiple times during an argument with his fellow officer in an incident in the Niagara region, Ontario’s police watchdog said as it announced new details of its probe of the incident.

The shooting took place on a rural road, about 22 kilometres south of St. Catharines.

How did gunfire erupt from what had apparently been nothing more than officers with Niagara Regional Police conducting a follow-up investigation of an impaired driving collision 17 days earlier?

The Special Investigations Unit is probing the shooting, which occurred in Pelham, Ontario at noon that involved two officers from the Niagara regional police

One officer fired his firearm multiple times, and the other officer was struck a number of times. The officer who was struck was transported to hospital where he was in stable condition. Twelve other officers who were nearby were to be considered as witnesses.

The SIU said the injured officer was a 52-year-old man, and Niagara police said he had served 28 years on the force.

“The days and weeks ahead were trying ones for the Niagara Region Police Service family and the community we serve,” said Niagara regional police Chief Bryan MacCulloch. “I ask for your support for our members and all those involved.” I don’t  think he was asking for the public’s support for the shooter.

The region’s police services board said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” by the shooting, but that it couldn’t comment further until the SIU had completed its probe.

Ns. Monica Hudon the spokeswoman for SIU said that the SIU had assigned 11 investigators, including three forensic specialists, to the case. She said it’s very early in the investigation and there have been no arrests. That means that until the investigation is completed, the shooter won’t be arrested. She urged anyone with information – particularly anyone with video evidence – to contact the SIU.

The Ontario Provincial Police has been called in to investigate other aspects of the incident that fall outside of the watchdog’s jurisdiction. A provincial police spokeswoman declined to comment on its investigation.

But the circumstances under which the shooting took place have not been revealed by the authorities, including the Special Investigations Unit that was probing what it had called an “altercation” between two officers.

Citing sources not authorized to speak on the record, local media have identified the officer who allegedly fired his weapon as Det.-Sgt. Shane Donovan and the wounded cop as 52-year-old Const. Nathan Parker. But official details on the incident are scarce.

The Special Investigations Unit has not released any names, although both men have been identified in multiple media reports. Thirteen individuals, including the injured officer, have been designated as witness officers, meaning they are compelled to submit to SIU interviews and turn over their notes.

Two police-issued firearms have been retrieved from the purported shooter and the victim. The shooter is designated as a subject officer by the SIU.

Was the shooting an accident? Was it justifiable? Was it self-defence during a physical row with an equally-armed opponent?

How did gunfire erupt from what had apparently been nothing more than officers with Niagara Regional Police conducting a follow-up investigation of an impaired driving collision 17 days earlier?

A constable and a detective sergeant who crossed paths, apparently crossed words, and suddenly one of them was bleeding out on the ground, struck several times, and rushed to hospital in critical condition.

The SIU is investigating and they are notoriously close-mouthed, so different from the press conferences frequently called when a homicide or serious shooting event occurs. The Ontario Provincial Policce (OPP) criminal investigation branch is conducting a parallel investigation but parameters and jurisdiction are unclear. “It would be inappropriate to provide further details or comment on this incident, given that this is an ongoing investigation,” OPP highways safety division spokesperson Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told the Toronto Star in an email.

From Philip Huck, vice-chair of the Ontario Association of Police Service Boards, in an email to the Star: “At this time, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to comment on this issue, as it is currently under investigation.”

From Bob Gale, chair of the Niagara Regional Police Board: “I’m sorry, but I cannot converse about yesterday’s occurrence, as it is in the hands of the SIU.”

The board did release a statement to the media: “The board is deeply concerned by the shooting incident involving two Niagara Regional Police Services officers on Nov. 29, 2018 in the Town of Pelham. The law requires that there be no public comment as discussion of the specifics of the occurrence under investigation until the SIU investigation and the Chief’s external review are completed.”

Chief Bryan MacCulloch referred all inquiries to the media department .While not confirmed by the SIU, the officer shot in “the altercation”, as per the SIU — in critical, but stable condition last night — has been identified by several sources as Const. Nathan Parker. The officer who discharged his weapon has been identified as Det.-Sgt. Shane Donovan.

Again, in the “normal” course of events, in particular when an officer has been shot and seriously injured, that cop would be a object of deep sympathy. The  victim is certainly in the “thoughts and prayers” of his colleagues but the personal background (of the victim) is disturbing, suggestive of a person with a temper, impulsive tendencies and menacing habits.

Parker’s brother said that his brother (the shot police officer) once punched a sibling in the face so hard that the youth was knocked out cold, He began using steroids as a teenager (synthetic drugs linked to aggression and uncontrollable wrath)  his brother also said that his brother strikes fear in the heart of family members.

In Parker’s police jacket is a disciplinary record which certainly indicates a long and troubling history over his nearly three-decade career.

In 2006, Parker was convicted by a police tribunal of using excessive force in pepper spraying a teenager handcuffed in the back of a cruiser. The police tribunal believed the evidence of the teen, who’d testified that Parker had reached into the back of the vehicle with his canister and asked: “Will you be saying ‘yo’ to me again fucking piece of shit as he hit the young man with a short burst of pepper spray.

The tribunal rejected Parker’s testimony that he’d only used pepper spray to subdue the teenager during a struggled outside his cruiser after striking him with an open hand and being unable to handcuff him.

Parker had originally claimed to have little recollection of the incident, but then told the investigator he’d sprayed the teenager outside the cruiser. “Oh yeah, he got what he deserved,” Parker was quoted as saying to the internal investigator.

The officer didn’t mention use of pepper spray in his occurrence report, nor submit a use of force report as required by law. The superintendent who presided over the hearing concluded that Parker’s evidence had been “misleading, inconsistent and untruthful” on many key issues.

Parker was docked 56 hours and ordered to take anger-management counselling.

Afterwards, in a memo to his superior, Parker requested overtime pay for the time he spent at his hearing, which he described as “a witch-hunt.” A separate charge of insubordination was laid over that memo.

A news database search found that, in 2012, Parker pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct and forfeited 60 hours pay over another incident involving his platoon commander. In that episode, Parker had alleged the commander made an improper gunpoint arrest without submitting a use-of-force report afterwards. Parker apparently conducted his own investigation, despite the commanding officer having been cleared of any wrongdoing.

In a previous unrelated incident, Parker was found guilty at a disciplinary hearing of using unnecessary force while arresting a cyclist without legal cause. He was docked 90 hours of leave time and ordered to undergo retraining.

In yet another incident, from 2013, Parker pleaded guilty (two years later) to discreditable conduct and two counts of using unnecessary force against a prisoner or other member of the public. Those charges arose from a confrontation where Parker, who was off-duty, stopped his car in front of a motorist he believed was driving aggressively. Witnesses said Parker yelled profanities at the driver as he approached him.

That driver felt so threatened by Parker — the driver feared for his safety — that he refused to exit the vehicle. The hearing was told Parker attempted to remove the driver forcibly, but was frustrated by the man’s seatbelt. A bystander, concerned about Parker’s aggressive behavior, called police on his cellphone while another officer, who’d been in the car with Parker, urged him to get back in the car, which he then sis and they left the scene.

Following Parker’s guilty plea, the hearing’s prosecuting officer recommended that he be demoted from first-class constable to second-class. He was docked 120 hours pay.

Parker, the cop that was shot by Sgt. Donovan learned too late that he shouldn’t have infuriated the cop that shot him. However, Sgt. Donovan is going to have a problem justifying his shooting of Parker.

In my opinion, both the shooter and the victim should be dismissed from the police force.

I will keep my readers abreast as I learn more of what follows.