Ontario SIU clears Niagara police in fatal Welland shooting

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to charge Niagara Regional Police officers following a fatal shooting in Welland in December 2025. SIU Director Joseph Martino determined that the officers acted lawfully and in defense of themselves and others during a tactical arrest.

The incident occurred when the Niagara Regional Police Emergency Task Unit attempted to arrest a man wanted by Peel Regional Police for an alleged shooting during an intimate partner violence incident in Mississauga. During the operation at an apartment, shots were exchanged, and the man reportedly fired at an armored response vehicle. After climbing out of a second-floor window, the man was shot on the sidewalk. He died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Investigators recovered a .22-calibre handgun near the scene. The SIU report noted that at least 18 shots were fired from five police rifles.