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UPDATED - OPP cleared of criminal responsibility in shooting death of Bruce Frogg: SIU

'I don't know if that was the right call,' officer said after the Wawakapewin First Nation man was mortally wounded in a Kenora park

KENORA — Two OPP officers have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in Kenora in 2024.

The Special Investigations Unit's findings in the case were immediately rejected by the leadership of Nishnawbe Aski Nation.

The shooting occurred June 25 in Anicinabe Park, and resulted in the death of a 57-year-old Bruce Frogg of Wawakapewin First Nation.

The SIU said it was delayed completing its report because of an internal administrative error that resulted in a key medical document not being forwarded to appropriate staff on a timely basis.

According to its report issued Wednesday, Frogg had doused himself with gasoline, picked up two meat cleavers, and set fire to a food concession.

The man was standing close to the flames when officers asked him to move away so it could be extinguished.

They also asked on-scene firefighters to have a hose ready to douse him in the event the fire spread.

Within moments of water from a firefighting hose striking the man indirectly, he walked off a deck on the side of the building, down a ramp onto the parking lot, and took three steps in the direction of the fire crew and police while brandishing the meat cleavers.

At that point, an officer discharged his rifle three times, striking Frogg in the chest and abdomen.

Paramedics administered emergency medical aid before he was taken to the Kenora hospital where he died from his injuries.

The SIU said it obtained numerous videos of the incident from civilians and from security cameras as part of its investigation.

Video from an OPP cruiser after the shooting recorded the officer who fired his weapon telling another officer "I don't know if that was the right call."

But SIU director Joseph Martino has concluded there are no reasonable grounds to believe either he or the officer in command at the scene committed a criminal offence.

"When he fired his rifle three times...he did so, I am satisfied, in defence of his person and others around him from a reasonably apprehended attack," he wrote.

Martino said although the officer invoked his right not to provide evidence firsthand, "his mindset can safely be inferred from the circumstantial evidence. That evidence includes the knives in the complainant's hands, his movement in the direction of the officers and the firefighters, his proximity to the police and firefighters when the gunfire occurred, his volatile behaviour at that point, utterances in the aftermath of the shooting expressing second thoughts about what had happened but indicating he fired his weapon because the complainant was moving towards him and others, and the statements of witness officers...indicating that they were on the brink of firing their weapons as well."

The director stated he's also satisfied the officer's use of gunfire constituted reasonable force, as "nothing short of gunfire had the immediate stopping power required of the moment."

With regard to a decision to have firefighters spray water near Frogg, "which seems to have been the catalyst for his movement off the porch," Martino said police, including the commanding officer on the scene, conducted themselves with due care and regard for public safety, including the complainant's health and well-being.

"From the get-go, officers spoke to him to have him drop the knives and distance themselves from the burning building," he said in his report. "Wisely, arrangements were also made to have firefighters and paramedics attend at the park."

He wrote that the commanding officer took the lead role in negotiations with the man, but could not convince him to drop the weapons and surrender peacefully.

Martino noted that an anti-riot weapon that shoots rubber bullets or bean bags was not available at the time, and with the fire continuing to grow, the OPP dog handler was concerned deploying the dog would place Frogg at greater risk from the blaze.

It was against this backdrop, he wrote, that a plan involving the firefighters was put into action.

"Regrettably, rather than leading to his safe apprehension by distracting him or causing him to lose balance, the complainant reacted by decisively walking off the porch, knives in hand, to a position where (the subject officer) reasonably believed he had no choice but to shoot him."

Shortly after the tragic incident, NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Grand Council Treaty Three Grand Chief Francis Kavanaugh said it “once again raised serious questions about the conduct of the police and their interactions with First Nations peoples.

“We expect a full accounting of exactly what happened, and we will hold the appropriate people and agencies accountable for their actions,” they said

Sol Mamakwa, the MPP for Kiiwetinoong, said in a media statement at the time that the episode “appears to be another situation where the lack of proper mental health support leads to unnecessary loss of life.”

Mamakwa, whose wife recently passed away, is not currently available for comment.

But Fiddler was quick to reject the SIU's report.

"The release of the SIU director's report into Bruce's tragic death has caused tremendous grief and we are doing our best to support the family through this difficult time," he said in a statement released by NAN late Wednesday afternoon.

Fiddler said the report fails to analyze why only one of four officers with firearms drawn decided to discharge their weapon.

"The report also does not cite an example of a particular person who was specifically threatened such that Bruce needed to be killed." 

The Grand Chief criticized the SIU, as well, for providing no analysis of Bruce Frogg's state of mind at the time, how his mental state could have led to his actions, or how officers are trained to respond to a person in emotional crisis. 

He stated "We are familiar with the SIU investigative process, and do not see how this report could properly answer the question of whether an officer made 'the right call.'  We do not accept the SIU's explanation of the circumstances that led to this officer taking Bruce's life, and so we reject the conclusion that the officers' actions were reasonable and justified."

Fiddler also cautioned the media and the general public that SIU investigations are "limited and often narrow in scope...and may not fully consider significant and broader systemic issues. We firmly believe that this is the case in this instance."

He said NAN is working with the family and community members "to explore other avenues for justice."

 

 

 



Gary Rinne

About the Author: Gary Rinne

Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Gary started part-time at Tbnewswatch in 2016 after retiring from the CBC
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