The manslaughter trial for a Chatham-Kent Ontario Provincial Police (CK OPP) officer continued on Tuesday with testimony from a police use of force, firearms training, and tactical expert called by the defence.
Constable Sean O'Rourke is on trial for the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Nicholas Grieves on Highway 401 near Ridgetown on July 7, 2021 following a gas theft.
Expert Christopher Butler told the Superior Court in Chatham that a firearm can go off in many ways, not just by someone pulling the trigger.
Butler said a mechanical malfunction, an unintended object entering into the trigger guard, and a loss of balance or a slip and clutch can all make a handgun go off.
Butler noted that O'Rourke unholstering his gun was consistent with police training based on all of the factors, risks, and threats in front of him at that time.
He also said that O'Rourke having his gun pointed at the suspect was appropriate because officers are trained to look over a firearm to locate a suspect's hands in case there's a weapon and officers often have just a split second to respond to a serious threat.
Butler noted officers have to do a risk assessment and determine lethal force very quickly because they only have between .25 and .5 seconds to draw a weapon and react to a threat, specially if the threat escalates quickly and the situation is unstable.
His testimony included that officers have little to no time to think because high risk situations can often unfold quickly.
Butler told the court that an officer drawing his firearm is a "very significant step" and he wouldn't change his opinion or testimony when the prosecution pointed out that O'Rourke's colleague, Sergeant Bradley Cook, didn't draw his gun when he responded that night.
Butler noted the suspect had the opportunity to give up when ordered to do so and didn't comply, making it a "significant risk factor" for O'Rourke.
O'Rourke testified on Friday that he drew his gun because he feared the possibility of serious harm or death based on the circumstances.
O'Rourke also testified that he stumbled on the grassy median and his gun went off as he was fighting feverishly to pull himself out of the car.
The trial resumes on Friday with closing submissions.