WRPS Officer Cleared in Fatal Shooting of Kitchener Man The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has announced that it will not charge the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) officer who fatally shot a Kitchener man in March 2023. According to the SIU investigation, the subject officer responded to a domestic disturbance call. Upon arrival, the officer observed a male suspect holding a handgun. After repeated verbal commands for the suspect to drop the weapon, the suspect pointed it at the officer. The officer discharged his service weapon, striking the suspect multiple times. The suspect was transported to hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The SIU investigation determined that the subject officer’s actions were justified and in accordance with the law. The officer faced an imminent threat to his life and that of the public and had no reasonable alternative but to use lethal force. The SIU concluded that there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer had committed a criminal offense and therefore recommended no charges be laid. The WRPS has expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased man and stated that it will continue to provide support to the officer involved..

A Waterloo region police officer who shot and killed a man in Kitchener, Ont., earlier this year will not be charged, the province’s Special Investigations Unit says.

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A Waterloo region police officer who shot and killed a man in Kitchener, Ont., earlier this year will not be charged, the province’s Special Investigations Unit says.

But the family of Nicholas Nembhard say they want answers after they called police to help the man, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and under his doctor’s supervision.

The Special Investigation’s Unit (SIU) said in a release on Friday that officers with the Waterloo Regional Police Service were called to a home in the area of ​​Brybeck Crescent and Karn Street for a “disturbance call” shortly before 9 pm on February 19.

The release says police saw Nicholas Nembhard holding an “edged weapon” leading to an interaction where one of the officers shot the 31-year-old man, who later died in hospital.

“Nicholas’ family cannot move on until they fully understand why their call for help led to a fatal shooting,” an email sent to CBC News from the family’s lawyer said. ++The family is calling for Ontario’s chief coroner to call an inquest into his death immediately.

“A coroner’s inquest, which is mandatory in these circumstances under the Coroner’s Act, may be the only avenue the family has to get answers about Nicholas’ death. It is also their only chance to participate in a process that can prevent similar deaths from occurring again.”

The statement from the family says they want the public to know how much he is missed.

“He worked hard, despite his mental health challenges, to provide for his family, including putting his sister through school. His loss is felt deeply every day,” the statement said.

The SIU report findings

After taking a look at the evidence, SIU director Joseph Martino said in the report released Friday that it was determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe the officer who shot Nembhard committed a criminal offense.

The SIU report says the police car that was driven by the officer who shot Nembhard was found on scene with a machete lodged into the front bumper.

The SIU included this picture in its report, to show Nembhard’s machete lodged into the front bumper of the WRPS cruiser that was driven by the officer who eventually shot and killed the man.

The SIU included this picture in its report, to show Nembhard’s machete lodged into the front bumper of the WRPS cruiser that was driven by the officer who eventually shot and killed the man. ++(Special Investigations Unit)

It says in addition to the pistol used to shoot Nembhard, the officer’s duty belt also had “all of the usual use of force options” including pepper spray, a baton, and a taser.

The report says an officer had tried to use a stun gun on Nembhard twice before another officer shot and killed the man.

Martino says the officer was within his rights to shoot Nembhard.

“I am satisfied that the (officer) fired his weapon to repel what he reasonably apprehended to be an attack on his partner,” Martino wrote in the SIU report, adding that firing the taser twice seemed to do very little to stop Nembhard.

“(Nembhard) was in possession of a machete—a weapon capable of inflicting grievous bodily harm or death—and had given the officers every indication he was intent on using it.”