SIU called to respond after incident shuts down Highway 11 for 12 hours

When police attempted to stop the vehicle and block it on Highway 11, the man rammed the police vehicle and an officer fired his weapon at the vehicle, the SIU said.

A domestic dispute that led to a 12-hour closure of the Trans-Canada Highway has ended and the province’s police watchdog has been called after an officer fired his weapon.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. yesterday (September 20), Ontario Provincial Police responded to a call on Elaine Street in Smooth Rock Falls.

During the investigation, police said there was an interaction between an officer and a person on Highway 11 about five kilometres east of Moonbeam. This resulted in the road being closed for about 12 hours, before it reopened this morning around 10 a.m.

The mandate of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was invoked.

The SIU is an independent agency that investigates incidents involving police where there has been a death, serious injury, allegations of sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

The SIU has released a preliminary incident report.

It is reported that police responded to a domestic dispute and the man left the residence in a vehicle before police arrived.

When police attempted to stop the vehicle and block it on Highway 11 east of Moonbeam, the man rammed the police vehicle. An officer fired at the vehicle and the man fled on foot. The man was not injured by the firearm.

At around 2 p.m. today, a person was taken into custody.

The investigation is ongoing and involves the Ontario Provincial Police Emergency Response Team (ERT), Canine Unit, Crime Unit and Forensic Identification Services.

Given that the SIU is involved, the Ontario Provincial Police say they will not be providing further information.

Three SIU investigators and two forensic investigators are assigned to the case.