Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team is investigating after a Halifax Regional Police officer shot and killed a man in Dartmouth.
In a news release, police said they went to Carleton Street in Dartmouth for a “weapons call involving a male armed with a firearm” on Saturday night at 8:35pm.
“The suspect barricaded himself in a residence on Carleton Street in Dartmouth. Officers set up containment on the residence,” police said.
“While attempting to arrest the man, he confronted the officers with a weapon and an officer discharged a service weapon. The male was found deceased in the residence.”
They said a 59-year-old man is dead, and SIRT is investigating. (A relative of the deceased has contacted the Examiner to say he was 64-years-old, not 59. This article is updated to reflect the uncertainty. The relative did not relay the man’s name.)
John Scott, the interim director of SIRT, which investigates serious incidents involving police, offered little new information Monday morning. He said he believed the man lived in the house on Carleton, but declined to name him or the officer who shot him. Asked what kind of weapon the man had, or whether it was confirmed to be a real firearm, he didn’t know.
“The investigator has been giving me some details but I didn’t ask for that detail. Obviously if there was any weapon, they’ve already seized it as an exhibit and what they’re doing with it, I’m not positive at this moment to know that,” Scott said.
Scott didn’t know what sort of weapon the officer fired either, and he wasn’t sure whether the medical examiner had completed an autopsy.
“We’re doing, as we would do, a thorough investigation,” Scott said.
“I don’t know how many witnesses they’ve interviewed, but they’ve interviewed witnesses, both police and civilian.”
Once the investigation is complete, Scott will have three months to table a report on the shooting and conclude whether charges against the officer are warranted.
By Monday afternoon, the police tape was down and the property owner was at the home at 31A Carleton St. boarding up the door. He didn’t want to speak with media, nor did most neighbours. Others said they didn’t know their neighbour and that he kept to himself.
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