SIU concludes no basis for criminal charges against OPP for fatally shooting First Nations man

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has released it’s final report into the death of a First Nations man who was shot by an Ontario Provincial Police officer in the city of Kenora, a little more than a year ago. Bruce Frogg, 57, was a member of Wawakapewin First Nation and living in Kenora at the time when he was shot at Anicinabe Park on June 25, 2024. The incident happened just days after National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations in the park and during the month of the 50th anniversary of Anicinabe Park’s occupation by First Nations protesting for better living conditions, education, and access to their traditional territory. More than two dozen people witnessed the events of that day at the park and the SIU says numerous videos were obtained from civilians and security cameras at Anicinabe Park. The SIU says Frogg, who is only identified as the Complainant in the report, was captured on video as he entered the park “pushing a shopping cart, poured a liquid substance on the wood box outside of the office building, and lit the shopping cart on fire.” According to the SIU, OPP officers were dispatched to the park shortly after 12:00 p.m. following a call an employee of the park’s office. “He was in a highly agitated state when he showed up at the park office with his cart and containers of flammable liquid. The Complainant would proceed to splash the fluid around the exterior of the building and in his cart of wood before setting the cart on fire beside an exterior wall of the office next to a wooden box containing firewood.” When the first OPP officer arrived on the scene at 12:05 p.m., Frogg was carrying around a machete in each hand. According to the report, the OPP officer “asked him to calm down and drop the knives. The Complainant was extremely upset and waved the machetes in front of him. He said that no one helped him.” As more officers arrived on the scene, the report says Frogg “challenged the officers to shoot him.” As the standoff continued, Frogg took three steps in the parking lot in direction of the firefighters and a group of officers when an officer fired three times. Frogg collapsed to the ground at 12:22 p.m. and [was] dragged away from the building and handcuffed. Paramedics administered emergency medical aid and Frogg was transported to “Lake of the Woods Hospital where he underwent surgery for bullet wounds to his chest and abdomen.” Frogg was pronounced deceased just before 4 p.m. Roughly one hour after the shooting, the involved officer was recorded on an OPP in-car camera saying “I don’t know if that was the right call.” In his decision, SIU director Joseph Martino wrote “on my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the Complainant’s death.” “When SO #2 fired his rifle three times at the Complainant, he did so, I am satisfied, in defence of his person and others around him from a reasonably apprehended attack,” wrote Martino. Martino says none of the officers were equipped with a less lethal force use of force option such as rubber bullets. The use of a conducted energy weapon was also ruled out “because it appeared that the Complainant had doused himself with a flammable liquid.” Martino found there is “no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed.” Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario says it rejects the SIU report. In a statement, NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler wrote, “the report does not analyse why, when four separate officers had firearms drawn, only one officer discharged their weapon. The report also does not cite an example of a particular person who was specifically threatened such that Bruce needed to be killed. Beyond citing that the other witness officers were ‘on the brink’ of firing their weapons, the report neither analyses nor makes findings as to why only one officer perceived sufficient danger such that they chose to discharge their weapon.” Fiddler says there is also no analysis in the report on Frogg’s state of mind at the time, how his mental state could have led to his actions or how officers are trained to respond to a person in emotional crisis. “We do not accept the SIU’s explanation of the circumstances that led to this officer taking Bruce’s life, and so we reject the conclusion that the officers’ actions were reasonable and justified,” wrote Fiddler. “We believe the SIU’s investigation has raised more questions than answers, and that this process is severely flawed. We are working closely with the family and community to explore other avenues for justice,” added Fiddler. Continue Reading