Officer Cleared in Welland Shooting: SIU Cites Self-Defense in Exchange of Gunfire The Special Investigations Unit has cleared a Niagara officer of criminal wrongdoing in a Welland shooting incident from December 2025. The director's report indicates the officer fired in self-defense and to protect colleagues during a confrontation with a 59-year-old man who had fired a revolver and later a long gun at police and municipal workers. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has concluded its investigation into a December incident in Welland where a 59-year-old man was shot and injured during an exchange of gunfire with Niagara Regional Police. Joseph Martino, director of the SIU, has cleared the officer involved of any criminal wrongdoing, determining that the use of force was in self-defense and to protect colleagues. The report details a Friday morning encounter that began with officers providing security for municipal workers demolishing a fence in front of a building erected illegally by the 59-year-old man, identified in the report as the Complainant. As the demolition work progressed, the Complainant emerged from the east side of the building, reportedly with a fully loaded revolver concealed in his jacket. An officer observed the Complainant approaching the municipal workers and moved to intervene. According to the SIU, the Complainant drew his firearm and fired multiple rounds at the approaching officer from a distance of approximately three to five meters. One of these rounds struck the officer, who then sought cover behind her police cruiser. The Complainant continued to fire as he retreated towards the double doors of his residence. At this point, all three responding officers discharged their firearms. One of these shots struck the Complainant before he re-entered his home. The Complainant reappeared shortly after, on one or two occasions, from the front entrance of his residence. He was then armed with a long gun and began firing at a front-end loader used in the fence removal, causing the operator to flee the vehicle. Shots were also directed at the police officers. Another officer retrieved a C8 rifle from her cruiser and fired a single shot at the Complainant, which caused him to retreat back inside. A protracted standoff followed, which concluded the following day with the Complainant's arrest. The SIU report noted that the officer who fired at the Complainant was likely protected from serious injury or death by her ballistic vest. Martino's report stated that the officer's use of two to four rounds constituted reasonable defensive force, as lesser or less-lethal options were not viable given the circumstances and the immediate threat posed by the Complainant's actions. The SIU found no reasonable grounds to believe the Complainant's injuries were the result of unlawful conduct by the officer