No charges for OPP officer in shooting death of man in Morrisburg
Posted Feb 19, 2019 08:19:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ontario's police watchdog will not charge a provincial police officer in the shooting death of a man at the Morrisburg detachment.
The incident happened back in December of 2017.
Babak Saidi, 43, died after he was shot five times.
Eight investigators were assigned to the probe, interviewing a dozen officers,and reviewing the notes of over a dozen more. Another 11 civilian witnesses were interviewed in the case.
According to the Special Investigations Unit, police planned to arrest Saidi on a criminal complaint, the day he was shot.
The 43-year-old was required to check in with police every week following a 2014 assault conviction, and officers informed him at his weekly sign-in that he was under arrest. When he tried to walk away, one officer grabbed his arm to stop him. Saidi fought with two OPP members, and was hit with a taser, which appeared to have no effect. The officer then shot Saidi.
In rendering his decision, SIU Director Tony Loparco said the CCTV footage at the detachment was “critical” in understanding what happened.
