MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Ontario’s police watchdog has identified a man fatally shot by police in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont..
The Special Investigations Unit says 27-year-old Martin Gordyn of the Niagara Region died Tuesday, and an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
The agency says a Niagara Regional Police Service officer has been designated as the subject of its investigation.
More than two dozen others -- 23 Niagara police officers, five provincual police officers and three parks officers -- are considered witnesses.
The SIU says the incident took place near a trail and two cyclists are believed to have witnessed it.
The agency is urging those cyclists to come forward and speak to investigators.
It says Niagara Regional Police Service responded to a report from a business Tuesday afternoon about two people seen sleeping in a vehicle.
It says the vehicle left the scene and police followed, with attempts to stop the driver until the car crashed into a ditch.
Niagara police say an officer shot the man at 2:20 p.m. and he later died in hospital.
The force says its officers were responding to a reported impaired driver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2021.
The Canadian Press
