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Victim identified in Desbarats shooting

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has identified the 34-year-old man killed yesterday at a police standoff in Desbarats. Dead is Brian Grasley, 34.
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Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has identified the 34-year-old man killed yesterday at a police standoff in Desbarats.

Dead is Brian Grasley, 34.

The SIU indicates that Grasley was shot after OPP encountered a man in an area near a house that had been surrounded by OPP and Sault City Police officers after an armed robbery earlier in the day at the Northern Credit Union in Richards Landing.

The following is the full text of a news release issued today by the Special Investigations Unit:

************************* SIU investigates firearm death in Desbarats

March 19, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO (March 19, 2004) - Four investigators, including two forensic identification technicians with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), are in Desbarats today to investigate a firearm death that occurred on March 18, 2004.

The SIU was notified that at approximately 7 p.m. that date, officers from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Sault Ste. Marie Police Service (SSMPS) were in the process of containing a person in a residence on Government Road in Desbarats.

At approximately 10 p.m., OPP officers encountered a man in the area around the house.

A shot was fired, resulting in Mr. Brian Grasley, 34 years of age, being shot.

Mr. Grasley was taken to hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The investigation is continuing to determine the nature and extent of police involvement in Mr. Grasley’s death.

The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates circumstances involving police and civilians which have resulted in serious injury, sexual assault or death.

Under Part VII, Section 113, of the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU has the sole authority to decide whether or not charges are warranted based on the findings of a complete investigation.

The Director's decision is reported to the Attorney General.

********************** Official OPP news release

To read the limited information released by Ontario Provincial Police about the Desbarats fatality, please click here.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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