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

SIU concludes investigation into fatal shooting in downtown London

London police officers have been cleared of wrongdoing after a 29-year-old Sarnia man was fatally shot downtown last fall.

The incident happened on October 28, 2021, according to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU). At around 3:46 a.m., police were called to a reported break-in in the area of St. George and Mill streets.

During the investigation, a man deemed a potential suspect by officers was seen in a nearby alley on Richmond Street, south of the train tracks. The SIU reported that the man was apprehended by an officer while another tried to handcuff him. He then broke free and attempted to run from police before falling to the ground with one of the officers who grabbed him. Police allege that he started choking the officer for approximately 45 to 60 seconds and refused to stop, which is when the other officer shot at him.

As a result, the man was struck by the weapon and then taken to hospital, where he died from a bullet wound in the neck. The 29-year was later identified as Justin Bourassa, a pro-tennis player from Sarnia. 

The investigation also determined that Bourassa was not involved in the break-and-enter.

"On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the subject officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the complainant’s death," said SIU Director Joseph Martino in a report released Monday. "Weighed one against the other, the use of lethal force by the officer was not disproportionate to the chokehold and the imminent risk it had created of death or grievous bodily harm to [the other officer]."

The officer who shot at Bourassa declined to be interviewed by the SIU, as it was his legal right to do so.

"The officer might well have had good reason to avoid use of his [taser] or pepper spray given the dynamics of the struggle on the ground between [his partner] and [Bourassa]," Martino said in his analysis. "It is hard to believe that the [officer] would have stood idly by for a period of time before discharging his weapon as his partner was being choked on the ground."

Martino concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to believe the officer acted unlawfully in the shooting, and the file has been closed.

In the months following Bourassa's death, a memorial has been set up by his family in support of the development of tennis in Sarnia-Lambton.

"Justin loved everyone, and everyone loved him," an excerpt from the Love-All fundraiser page read. "He will be best remembered for his kindness to those less privileged, his gentleness, his humour and his joie de vivre."

The full, detailed report by the SIU can be found by clicking here.

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