NEWS RELEASE
SPECIAL INVESTIGATION UNIT
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MISSISSAUGA - On Dec. 31, 2019, the SIU commenced an investigation into a police-involved shooting in St. Catharines. As a result of the shooting, a 56-year-old man was taken to hospital for treatment. The man has since succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced dead yesterday at 12:27 p.m.
In accordance with the Special Investigations Unit’s name release policy which requires consent from next of kin, the Unit is now able to identify the man as Fred Penner.
A post-mortem took place this morning.
The SIU continues to investigate this incident. The SIU is requesting anyone who may have information about this investigation to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529. The Unit is also urging anyone who may have any video evidence related to this incident to upload that video through the SIU website.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. Under the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU must:
• consider whether an officer has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
• depending on the evidence, lay a criminal charge against the officer if appropriate or close the file without any charges being laid
• report the results of any investigations to the Attorney General.
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