Justin Bourassa, photo courtesy of McKenzie Blundy funeral home.Justin Bourassa, photo courtesy of McKenzie Blundy funeral home.
London

SIU identifies man shot dead by London police

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has released the name of the man who died after being shot by a London police officer.

The SIU says the deceased man is Justin Bourassa, 29, of Sarnia. Bourassa was pronounced dead in hospital on October 28 after he was shot by a London police officer in an alley behind Richmond Row. According to the SIU, there had been an "altercation" involving Bourassa and police before he was shot.

The SIU says four investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the case.

Bourassa was an instructor with the Sarnia Tennis Club. A candlelight vigil for him was scheduled to be held in Sarnia on Tuesday night.

The fatal shooting was the second involving London police in about five years. Samuel Maloney was shot dead in his Duchess Ave. home during a police raid on December 23, 2016. He was shot several times by officers after shooting one of them with a crossbow. The SIU later ruled that there were no grounds on which to charge any of the officers involved in the raid.

In July, the SIU launched an investigation after a London police officer shot a man on Dufferin Avenue just east of Waterloo Street. The July 27 shooting happened after the man who was shot allegedly ran at officers while armed with knives. The investigation into that incident is ongoing.

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