SiRT says Halifax police officer who shot man will not face charges

The SiRT logo is seen in an undated file photo.

Nova Scotia's police watchdog says a Halifax Regional Police officer will not face charges in connection with a shooting that sent a man to hospital with serious injuries.

Halifax Regional Police responded to a call of an attempted murder in the Clayton Park area of Halifax on Aug. 24, 2023. According to SiRT's report, police had learned a woman had been "violently stabbed with a knife and shot" in an apartment.

The report says when police arrived, the female told officers the suspect may still be in the apartment armed with a sawed-off shotgun.

Police searched the apartment building before learning a person had run from the building.

According to SiRT's report, officers located the man on a nearby residential street, who allegedly pointed a firearm at the officer.

"The officer feared for his safety and discharged his firearm, striking the male in the thigh," read the report.

"Police provided first aid on scene. The male was taken to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery."

SiRT's report says an officer who witnessed the incident told investigators, " I honestly feel that if the SO (subject officer) didn’t shoot, he (the suspect) would have shot all of us. It was scary, really scary.”

SiRT's director Erin Nauss says the shots fired by the officer were found to constitute reasonable force in the circumstances.

SIRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia, whether or not there is an allegation of wrongdoing.

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