Officer stabbed, suspect shot on Toronto's west side: police

A Toronto police officer shot and killed a 28-year-old man who stabbed him during an altercation on the city's west side Friday afternoon, the province's police watchdog said.

The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the College Street and Lansdowne Avenue area.

Special Investigations Unit (SIU) spokeswoman Christy Denette told reporters at the scene that Toronto police received a call about a person in crisis at the residence.

Officers found the man outside the Tim Hortons and tried to detain him under the Mental Health Act, Denette said.

“There was some sort of struggle with the two officers who were on the scene,” he said. Officers then deployed their Tasers twice, but they were ineffective.

“During that fight, the male pulled out a knife and stabbed the officer. I believe the officer shot the male once,” Denetta said.

The officer and the man were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition.

Video captured by CTV News Toronto shows police struggling with a man on the ground between two cars in the plaza's parking lot. At one point in the video, two officers can be seen with their guns drawn and pointing their weapons at the man, who falls to the ground moments later.

Denette said SIU investigators are at the scene collecting evidence and speaking with witnesses. The SIU is called in any time the police are involved in an incident that results in death, serious injury or sexual assault.

Toronto Police Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue confirmed an officer was stabbed in the leg during a brief update on the scene.

“I want to take a moment to recognize the bravery and dedication of our officers who put themselves in harm's way to keep others in the community safe. Their commitment to their duties and public safety is commendable,” Pogue said.

He would not share more details about what happened because the SIU is now involved.

The woman, who identified herself as the suspect's girlfriend, said the incident began inside a Tim Horton's where she was drinking coffee.

Officers arrived and told them there was a warrant out for her boyfriend, Francie Peria told reporters at the scene. She said officers dragged her boyfriend outside and detained him.

“That's where things started to get tense,” Peria said.

He described how he was shocked because he didn't hear the gunshots. “I heard a Taser go off. I didn't hear a gun,” Peria said.

She said her boyfriend apologized to the officer after stabbing her.

“I never thought this would happen,” Peria said. “I didn't think he really deserved to be shot. And so did the police officer who got stabbed. I understand that's wrong.”

The incident comes days after Toronto police said two officers were injured in separate attacks in the city on Tuesday night. The Toronto Police Association (TPA) said earlier this week on CP24, one of the officers suffered a serious leg injury and had to undergo surgery.

TPA President John Reed told reporters Friday that he expects the injured officer to make a full recovery.

“All things considered, he's in good spirits,” Reed said Friday afternoon outside St. Michael's Hospital, where the officer was being treated.

Reed said the officer is in his 20s and is new to the service, but recently graduated.

“Today's incident affects the whole service, especially people's families, because no one expects a loved one to go to work and end up like this at the end of the day,” he added.

“This was a situation that could have spiraled out of control very quickly, and I believe today was an incident that escalated from the threat of violence to violence.”

When asked this week about the injuries suffered by Toronto officers on the job, Reed expressed anger and frustration.

“I'm fed up with what's happening in this city. This is our third injured officer in three days. A few days ago we punched a uniformed officer in the face. He broke his leg, and now this. It has to be stopped,” he said.

“The violence must stop.”

In a social media post, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow called Friday's incident “disturbing.”

“I wish the injured officer a speedy recovery,” he wrote. “This week, three (Toronto police) officers were injured in the line of duty. One was assaulted while walking on the street, another was injured after being involved in a carjacking. Now that's a disturbing incident. Violence is never acceptable.”