BROCKVILLE CONSTABLE WOUNDED BY FELLOW OFFICER DURING DRUG RAID

A Brockville police constable is recovering this morning after he was
shot in the leg by a fellow officer during a drug raid at an Abbott
Street residence early Saturday morning.

Police said Constable Mark Heffernan was "accidentally shot" by a
fellow member of the city force's emergency response team.

Heffernan's injuries were described as minor and he was treated and
released at Brockville General Hospital.

According to Chief John Manoll, Heffernan was one of four ERT members
who had entered the upstairs portion of the residence as part of the raid.

"A second officer had an accidental discharge of his firearm," said
Manoll, noting the shot from the Bushmaster .223-calibre rifle came
from behind Heffernan.

He would not describe the circumstances that may have caused the shot
to be fired.

Manoll said only one round was discharged, which struck Heffernan in
the lower leg.

"It's one of those phone calls you never want to get. E It's a bit of
a gut-wrenching feeling," said Manoll of his reaction.

He said the safety wasn't activated on the rifle, which is standard
practice for the emergency response team when they are conducting an operation.

City police are not releasing the name of the officer whose rifle was fired.

"I don't think it's relevant," said Manoll, who added the officer has
not been suspended but has asked for a couple of days off.

"I'm assuming after his two days off, he'll be back to regular duty,"
said the chief, adding, "I think he's taking it harder than (Heffernan)."

Heffernan, who remains on crutches, has been into the police station
since the incident, said Manoll.

"Other than crutches, you wouldn't know anything happened," said the
chief when asked about Heffernan's state of mind.

Manoll said the province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which
investigates police-involved shootings, was contacted Saturday after
the incident.

"They came down, evaluated the situation, spent some time with our
people," said the chief, noting SIU investigators subsequently
determined the incident was not within their mandate to probe further.

Staff Sergeant Scott Fraser is, however, conducting an investigation
into the circumstances of the incident to determine if changes to the
ERT unit's procedures are required.

Manoll stressed the team is trained to provincial standards and said
no procedural changes have yet been made as a result of anything uncovered.

Brockville's emergency response team was at 36 Abbott Street on
Saturday morning to assist with a search warrant as part of a joint
forces drug operation known as Project Islander.

Police said three people were arrested in connection with the search
of the home, which also resulted in the seizure of cocaine, cash and
drug paraphernalia.

Manoll said suspects were still in the residence when the shot was fired.

Arrested were two males in their 20s - [Redacted] and [Redacted],
along with a 17-year-old female. They will appear in court on
February 8 in Brockville.