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2- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday August 27, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Officer testifies they saved man's life Continued from page 1 The lead up to this moment dates back to Nov. 25, 2006 when members of the tactical unit, along with other officers, were called to a condominium on Marine Drive. The reports they received stated that an elderly man with a history of Parkinson's disease was armed with two large butcher knives and was acting Floor Model Clearance THIS WEEKEND ONLY Applies to all in stock items and display models. "MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN SPECIALISTS" w w w. c o b b l e s t o n e m b e r s . c a 406 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE ACROSS FROM RONA LANSING 905-337-2066 strangely. Another officer who was present, but not charged, testified that upon entering the apartment he encountered Gerry Morgan who was in the kitchen swinging the knives back and forth in a trance-like state. The tactical team confronted Morgan and ordered him to put the knives down. When Morgan did not respond he was shot with a rubber bullet, which penetrated his upper arm to the bone. He was hit with a Taser seconds later when he still refused to put down one of the knives. After the incident, Morgan was taken to O a k v i l l e - Tr a f a l g a r Memorial Hospital (OTMH) where he was treated for his arm injury and released. Shortly thereafter, Morgan was readmitted to hospital where he "I didn't want to have to shoot Mr. Morgan and was doing everything in my power to prevent that." Matthew Kohler, Halton Regional Police Tactical officer Halton Regional Police Service remained until his death May 4, 2007. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), a civilian agency which investigates police actions that result in injury or death, found no evidence to link Morgan's death to the Nov. 25 incident. However, it concluded that grounds did exist to charge tactical team members Joe Davis, Richard Dodds and Matthew Kohler with a number of assault-related offences. On Monday that decision was undone. The day that preceded the dismissal saw testimony from Kohler, the tactical team leader who defended the actions he ordered as being completely necessary given the situation. "I thought there was a high potential for serious bodily harm or death at that time," said Kohler. "He was a danger to himself and others." Kohler testified that a number of considerations went through his mind in determining his course of action that day. He was concerned that Morgan could have severely cut himself while swinging the knives around. He was also concerned Morgan could have tripped and fallen on the knives, thereby stabbing himself. He feared Morgan may have accessed the apartment's sixth floor balcony and either fallen or jumped to his death. For all these reasons Kohler said the tactical team had to enter the Notice Effective September 1st, 2008, the Halton Regional Police Service will be implementing changes to the procedure used by organizations wishing to hire off-duty officers for their events ("Pay Duty Officers"). It is hoped that this new, streamlined procedure will simplify the application process for our customers. The changes are as follows: 1. Applications and payment will be accepted at any Halton Regional Police Service station. 2. Requests for Pay Duties must be made a minimum of seven (7) days in advance of an event. There will be exceptions made for special circumstances. 3. All Pay Duty requests in the Region of Halton must be prepaid at the time the requests are made. Acceptable payment forms include cheque, debit card and/or credit card. If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact: Ms. Molly Kaye, Pay Duty Clerk Halton Regional Police Service 905-825-4747 ext. 5404 FourFloors of Showrooms Summer Savings · Durham · Canadel · Leathercraft · Brunetti · B &G Furniture · Vogel · Buhler · Superstyle · Gibbard · and more! Proudly supporting Canadian Manufacturers 217 Lakeshore Road East Downtown Oakville Since 1953 Progress Through Participation www.swissinteriors.com 905.844.3530 apartment and make an immediate apprehension under the Mental Health Act. Kohler also said that once the tactical team had confronted Morgan in the apartment they were left with few options. "I didn't want to have to shoot Mr. Morgan and was doing everything in my power to prevent that," said Kohler, who noted that he drew an imaginary line on the kitchen floor where deadly force would have been used if Morgan crossed it. Kohler noted that pepper spray was not used as the emotionally disturbed are sometimes not affected by such tactics. "There's a mind body disconnect," said Kohler. He also noted that a shield takedown, in which an officer knocks the person off their feet with a ballistic shield and then pins them to the ground, would not have been appropriate given Morgan's age and the risk of broken bones. In the end, Kohler said he decided to employ Anti Riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) because it would allow the officers to maintain a safe distance from Morgan's knives and, while the impact is great, it usually only leaves a large circular bruise. The rubber bullet from the ARWEN, fired by Dodds, succeeded in forcing Morgan to drop one of the knives, however, he still had a firm grip on the second. Kohler noted the expression on Morgan's face did not change after being hit, and as he still possessed a weapon he continued to be a danger to himself and the officers. As Morgan was still not responding to commands to drop the knife, Kohler called on Davis to hit Morgan with the Taser. When asked if he would do anything differently if presented with the situation again, Kohler said his actions would have been the same. "Me and my team successfully resolved a situation that could have turned tragic," he said. "I believe we saved Mr. Morgan's life that night." An intense cross-examination by Leitch followed, in which Kohler was questioned about why he did not try to get more information about Morgan and the medication he was taking before confronting him. Kohler said whatever information he received would not have changed the fact that Morgan was acting dangerously and needed to be apprehended. Leitch also grilled Kohler on exactly what Morgan was doing with the knives when Kohler confronted him. Another officer had previously testified Morgan was swinging them back and forth while Kohler testified that Morgan was in an aggressive stance holding the knives in a sword-like position. Kohler noted the other officer had caught sight of Morgan before he had, so Morgan's behaviour could have changed. He also pointed out that Morgan would have been apprehended regardless of whether he was swinging the knives or just standing there with them. Despite an intense effort, Leitch was unable to shake Kohler's belief that something else could have been done that night. See Hesitation page 10