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The parents of a man from Sarnia, who was fatally shot by a London police officer, ask why the police officer did not try a non-lethal force before shooting their son “straight”.
Date of publication:
June 28, 2022 • 11 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 11 comments The London police officer who fatally shot Justin Burasa, 29, in Richmond Rowe Alley on October 28, 2021, has been acquitted of any wrongdoing by the Special Investigations Division. . (Photo courtesy of the Bourassa family)
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The parents of a man from Sarnia, who was fatally shot by a London police officer, ask why the police officer did not try a non-lethal force before shooting their son “straight”.
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The Special Investigations Department (SIU) cleared the officer for wrongdoing in the death of Justin Burasa on October 28, 2021, but the director of the police monitoring agency raised questions about the actions of the officer involved in a report released Monday after nine months of investigation. .
Police responded to a reported burglary involving three men near St. John and Mill streets around 3:45 a.m. and followed 29-year-old Burasa into a nearby Richmond Row alley, mistakenly believing he was one of the suspects, the report said. .
Two officers tried to arrest and handcuff Burasa, provoking a fight in which Burasa put an officer in a “suffocated suffocation” in the back for 45 to 60 seconds, causing the other officer to fire a shot at Burasa’s neck at close range. said SIU. .
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“It is absolutely clear and disturbing that the officer’s gun was aimed at his neck and there is no evidence of other forms of interference such as electric shock, pepper spray or a truncheon,” Burasa Lorraine’s mother said on Tuesday.
Burasa’s gunshot wound had soot around him, suggesting that the barrel of the officer’s Glock pistol may have touched Bourassa’s clothing when the deadly shot was fired, the SIU report said.
Members of the Special Investigations Unit investigated on October 28, 2021, after a police officer shot Justin Burasa, 29, from Sarnia behind Richmond Street near Pall Mall Street in London. (Derek Rutan / The London Free Press)
SIU Director Joseph Martino noted that the officer did not use his pepper spray, a stunning pistol, baton or physical force before firing his pistol. But the officer did not speak to SIU investigators and did not hand over his notes, as is his legal right, so Martino said he could not be sure whether non-lethal force had been used.
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“We understand that there is a big vacuum in the report because the officer in question did not have to come out and cooperate,” said Burasa’s father, Jean-Marc.
Surveillance cameras of nearby companies filmed Bourassa and police entering the alley, but none filmed the fatal meeting, the SIU report said.
The Bourassas family, who met with Martino and the SIU chief investigator in the case, said they were surprised that London police did not carry body cameras or no cameras on their cruisers.
The grieving parents hope that the coroner’s investigation, which has not yet been scheduled, will provide more details about their son’s death.
Judicial investigations, mandatory when someone in custody dies for something other than a natural cause, investigate the manner and cause of death of a person. The jury will make recommendations at the end, but will not attribute blame.
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Martino also questioned whether the police had legal grounds to search Burasa, who matched the general description of the burglary suspects, noting that the decision to handcuff him led to the fight.
The Burasa family noted that the SIU report, published nine months after their son’s death, showed that he had no drugs or alcohol in his body, did not carry any weapons and was not involved in the reported intrusion.
A member of the Special Investigations Department checked for fingerprints on a London police car on October 28, 2021, after a London police officer shot Justin Burasa. (Derek Rutan / The London Free Press)
SIU investigates all deaths, serious injuries, allegations of sexual violence and police shootings.
London police are conducting an internal investigation into the fatal shooting, which will be presented to the police council, the seven-member civilian agency that monitors the city’s police.
Forces could not comment on the shooting and the SIU report while the investigation is ongoing, a police spokesman said Monday.
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The police officer who shot Burasa remains on active duty, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Free Press reported that the officer had been acquitted of a separate investigation by the SIU after shooting a man armed with knives in front of an apartment on Dufferin Avenue on July 27, 2021.
It is not yet clear what Burasa, who worked as a tennis instructor and therapist in Sarnia, central London, did on the night he died.
Burasa’s parents want him to be remembered for his love of tennis and his passion for teaching the sport to players of all skill levels. They created the love-all.ca Foundation to provide tennis scholarships to young people in Sarnia-Lambton.
dcarruthers@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/DaleatLFPress
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