Two Windsor police officers made the right call when they shot and killed a distraught man attacking them with a steak knife last year, the province’s police watchdog said Thursday.
Despite dealing with unco-operative officers and a gap in video footage at the moment of the shooting, the Special Investigations Unit has cleared police of any wrongdoing in the death of 33-year-old Matthew Mahoney. The two unnamed officers shot him a total of seven times.
It happened March 21, 2018, outside a downtown McDonald’s.
The Windsor Police Service said Chief Al Frederick is the only person that can comment on the report. He wasn’t available Thursday.
The SIU, which investigates cases of serious injury, sexual assault and death involving police, had 10 investigators on the case. They interviewed eight witness officers.
Neither of the “subject officers” involved in the shooting consented to an interview. They also refused to hand over their notebooks. The SIU said the officers, referred to as Subject Officer 1 and Subject Officer 2, are legally entitled to refuse cooperation.
Investigators identified 32 civilian witnesses and did detailed interviews with 18 of those people, including Mahoney’s mother.
The SIU also obtained video recordings from several buildings surrounding the shooting zone, but Loparco noted in his report there was an unexplained gap in the video footage during a 54-second period when Mahoney was shot.
The 20-page report relies heavily on witness statements. One of the witnesses was an outreach worker with the Windsor Essex Community Health Centre. That person, referred to as Civilian Witness 5 (CW#5), was on a ride-along with Subject Officer 2 and had a front row view of what happened.
An autopsy was conducted March 22 in London. The forensic pathologist found seven gunshot wounds. Mahoney was shot in the right forearm, the right thigh, and the abdomen.
There was also an entrance wound to the left rear side of the chest. That bullet was found in the front of his chest. It caused extensive damage to the left lung resulting in a hemorrhage. The pathologist considered this the fatal wound.
The SIU report, which calls Mahoney “the complainant” instead of referring to him by name, makes no mention of his mental health issues. He battled schizophrenia for 20 years.
Michael Mahoney said there is nothing “new or surprising” to his family in the SIU report.
He said he wants an inquest to probe how the healthcare system “failed Matthew” and how to prevent a similar tragedy from happening to someone else.
Several officers responded. They were initially unable to find the man. But at 8:11 a.m., an officer spotted him walking east on Wyandotte.
One minute and three seconds later, another officer had been stabbed and Mahoney was shot seven times.
“Shots fired. Shots fired. He wielded the knife and ran at officers,” Subject Officer 1 reported over the radio at 8:12 a.m.
The SIU report states that Subject Officer 2 first drove up to the man and tried to talk to him on Dufferin Place between McDonald’s and Shoppers Drug Mart. The man walked away. Subject Officer 1 arrived and blocked the entrance to the drug store parking lot with his cruiser. That officer got out of the car and also tried to talk to the man.
The man then pulled out a knife and “slashed at the officer.” The officer Tasered him but it was ineffective.
Subject Officer 1 backed away and came up against a “half-wall.” The officer fell on the curb. The man with the knife kept slashing at him. The office suffered a cut to his right palm.
A civilian witness told the SIU that the officer was kicking at the man to protect himself.
The second officer pulled out his gun while yelling at the man to drop the knife.
The shots that killed Mahoney were “justified,” Loparco wrote.