SIU SAYS SLAIN MAN WAS ARMED

A 47-year-old man shot dead by police Friday evening was armed with a
handgun when he ran from police and subsequently died in a hail of
bullets, The Intelligencer has learned.

Speaking from the Mississauga headquarters of the Ontario Special
Investigations Unit, spokeswoman Kaia Werbus confirmed Monday that
Curtis MacDonald was armed with a handgun when he was shot by officers
around 6:30 p.m. in the city's downtown. In previous statements, the
provincial agency would only confirm MacDonald possessed a firearm.

The agency, which investigates any incident involving police and
civilians where death or injury occurs, would previously only - and
cryptically - say MacDonald was "in possession" of a firearm but would
not confirm or deny that he, in fact, was armed when he encountered
police.

"Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't be releasing that ... but
just to clear the air - but preserve the integrity of the
investigation - that's what we're prepared to say right now," Werbus
said.

The SIU was called in to probe city police involvement in the
shooting, which occurred shortly after 6:30 p.m. Friday in a downtown
parking lot behind a parkette near Maxwell's Deli Cafe building at 248
Front St. known as Behrens Park.

According to people interviewed at the scene, MacDonald was drinking
on Maxwell's rear porch when he noticed police coming out of the rear
entrance of nearby Copperfield's and fled on foot.

McDonald, according to witnesses, ran around the northwest corner of
the building and into the parking area between Maxwell's and
Greenley's book store to a parked white Sunfire car. When he reached
the vehicle, witnesses said he turned to face the pursuing police officers.

The shooting occurred on the west side of the vehicle, which was
parked against the wall of the building housing Maxwell's.

None of the witness accounts have been verified by police or
investigators with the SIU.

Paramedics tended to MacDonald at the scene but he was pronounced dead
at Belleville hospital a short time later.

A post mortem examination was held Sunday in the Coroner's Building in
Toronto, but the results are not being made public, Werbus said.

Meanwhile, a police officer also received "very minor" injuries in the
incident - believed to be a wound to the upper leg from a deflected
round. It is not known from which weapon the bullet that injured the
officer was fired or if, in fact, MacDonald fired his weapon, at all.

Prompted to release the information due to the extent of details
contained in an Intelligencer story on the incident which was
published June 19, Werbus said the confirmation that MacDonald was
armed was issued, in part, to quell the public's speculation that
MacDonald was not armed when he was shot.

Eight SIU investigators have been assigned to the case and were at the
scene to gather physical evidence late Friday night and to conduct
interviews with potential witnesses throughout the weekend.

The agency is provincially-mandated to probe all incidents involving
police officers in Ontario where someone sustains serious injury,
sexual assault or death. Police Service Act charges can be laid
against any subject officers pending the outcome of an SIU
investigation.

In the Belleville shooting, two police officers have been designated
as subject officers while three others have been appointed as witness
officers.

The actions of the subject officers, whose names were not released,
are being probed for any possible wrongdoing. While the subject
officer cannot be directly spoken to by investigators, those
designated as witnesses will be questioned with regards to their
interpretations of the incident.

City police are also not allowed, under provincial guidelines, to
speak publicly about the incident.

Werbus did not want to speculate on how much time the SIU
investigation may take to complete.

"We don't work to a time line ... statistically, over 50 per cent of
our cases close in 30 days. I'm not saying this one will - obviously
they're all different, with different things involved - but those are
the statistics."

Investigators are also attempting to track down potential witnesses,
she added.

"All I can really say is that interviews with civilians are ongoing
. we are continuing our appeal for witnesses."

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact the unit at
416-622-2150 or 1-800-787-8529.