OPP officers under investigation after fatal shooting in Cramahe Township

By Shira Rubinoff

BELLEVILLE – Big news for a small community came in the form of a Special Investigations Unit investigation into a fatal shooting Tuesday in Cramahe Township.

According to the SIU, Northumberland OPP officers were dispatched around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday to address a situation at County Road 25 and Tobacco Road. Officers were told there was a man sitting in his parked car and yelling at people. 

When the officers arrived, the man approached them, hit one of the cruisers with a baseball bat, then got back into the car and drove toward the officers, the SIU said. 

An “interaction” followed when the man got back out of his car. The officers used a Taser and plastic bullets against him,  but when that did not stop the situation, the officers “discharged their firearms at the man,” the SIU’s news release said.

Paramedics at the scene attempted to treat the man for his injuries, but he died at the scene. 

According to myKawartha, the man’s family has asked that his name not be revealed publicly by the SIU. The man was 43 years old, according to the unit.

The investigation is ongoing, with a post-mortem evaluation expected to be completed Wednesday in Kingston. The SIU has assigned six investigators to the case.

There are two officers and 12 witness officers being looked into, according to the SIU.

The Special Investigation Unit is a civilian law enforcement agency that looks into cases where police may be involved in criminal conduct. 

If anyone has new information about the incident, they are asked to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529, and to upload any relevant information to the SIU website.