A Toronto police officer is facing charges for shooting a man in a park in the city’s northwest earlier this year, the province’s police oversight agency said.

In a press release on Friday, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said police officer Andrew Davis would face the following charges:

• One count of grievous bodily harm.

• A charge of discharging a firearm with intent to maim, injure, disfigure, or endanger life.

Davis is due to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice on October 3.

At the time of the incident, he had already been working for the Toronto Police Service for a year and is currently suspended with pay, a member of the police press team told CBC Toronto.

The SIU said its investigation revealed that officers were called to a park in the area of ​​Black Creek Drive and Trethewey Drive on February 27 for a report of a man with a knife. Two officers fired Tasers at the man while another officer fired his weapon twice.

The 31-year-old man was taken to hospital with serious injuries, the SIU said. No other injuries were reported.

The injured man was later identified as Devon Fowlin.

Devin Fowlin spoke to reporters on Wednesday, March 22, after he was shot by Toronto police a month earlier. (Martin Trainor/CBC)

Weeks after his injury, Fowlin spoke out about the incident, claiming that police did not attempt to deescalate the situation before firing at him.

Fowlin said he was walking his dog that morning with a knife in his hand, calling it “the knife I cook with and live with in my car.” His attorney at the time said he was homeless.

“I pray with it too, you know, and so I prayed that same morning,” Fowlin said, adding that no one else was near the park.

Fowlin told reporters that he raised his arm with the knife in his hand several times in the area and that the third time he did so, he saw a Honda Civic accompanied by a police officer drive into the park’s parking lot.

As the officer approached him, Fowlin said he attempted to walk away to get his dog into his own vehicle.

At that moment, he said, two police SUVs drove into the parking lot, blocked off his vehicle, and five officers got out and lined up side by side.

Fowlin said officers pointed their guns at him “immediately.”

“They shouted a command, and immediately I felt a gunshot, and right after that I heard several gunshots,” Fowlin said.

Fowlin said he dropped the knife and ran before falling at the intersection of Black Creek and Trethewey Drive.

Lawyer ‘pleased’ with SIU’s decision to press charges

Fowlin’s attorney, David Shellnutt, said he was “pleased that serious charges are being brought in this very troubling case.”

In a statement, Shellnut called the SIU’s decision to bring charges against the officer “an unusual step” and praised the “thoughtful and compassionate investigation.”

Shellnut, however, wonders what makes this case so unique and why the SIU has not brought similar charges in other cases involving police shootings.

“This is a positive step forward for Devon and his family. However, it does not undo what happened and what he endured: severe injuries of both a physical and psychological nature,” Shellnut said.

“These injuries have made the last few months since the shooting almost unbearable. Life has been incredibly difficult… The cost to Devon, his family and our communities from incidents like this is unbelievably high.”

“A regrettable incident for everyone,” says the police association

Toronto Police Association (TPA) president Jon Reid says the union continues to support Davis, as it would any officer charged by the SIU.

“This is an unfortunate incident for everyone involved and we know this has been and will continue to be a difficult time for Const. Davis, his family and his colleagues,” Reid said in a written statement.

“As an association, it is our responsibility to ensure that our member receives fair and full representation. Since this incident, the TPA has supported the member. This is the same process that would be followed for any TPA member charged by the Special Investigations Unit.”

Reid said police officers are subject to a higher level of oversight and responsibility than any other profession.

He urged the public to “wait until the case is heard in court and disciplinary proceedings are initiated,” adding: “In the meantime, there is no point in passing judgment on this official or bringing the entire membership into disrepute.”