London police justified shooting man who fatally stabbed Breanna Broadfoot: SIU

WARNING: This story contains graphic discussions of intimate partner violence.

A new report from Ontario’s police watchdog sheds light on London police’s response to the fatal stabbing of Breanna Broadfoot in July and the officer-involved shooting of her 18-year-old boyfriend.

In the report released on Friday, Special Investigations Unit (SIU) director Joseph Martino cleared two London police officers who responded to the initial call and killed the man who approached him with a knife. the report says.

Just after 10:54 p.m. on July 16, police responded to 86 Wellesley Cres., after receiving a frantic call from a person at the home that the 18-year-old had stabbed his girlfriend multiple times in the kitchen. came to your address. and stabbed a second victim in the leg.

According to the report, the first caller and the second victim witnessed the man “beating his girlfriend” in the kitchen and tried to intervene “as the Complainant grabbed a knife and began stabbing his girlfriend.”

After the second victim suffered a cut on his right calf, the two locked themselves in the upstairs bathroom and called the police, the report states.

The report states that two officers forced their way into the house around 11 p.m.

The first caller to come down “pointed to the top of the stairs.” After drawing their guns, the duo found the second victim in an upstairs bathroom, who pointed to another room, according to the report.

“Officers arrived on the second floor where a bloodied woman – Witness No. 1 – was lying in the open bedroom doorway,” the report says, referring to Broadfoot as Witness No. 1.

“The Complainant was in the immediate vicinity of Witness No. 1. He stood up with a blood-covered knife in his right hand, walked past Witness No. 1, and began advancing toward the officers. The officers yelled at the police to have the Complainant drop the knife,” the report continues.

According to the report, the 18-year-old man continued to approach and raised the knife, at which point officers opened fire; one fired once, the other three times, both with their service pistols. He was three meters away.

Broadfoot was “severely injured but still breathing” and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead two days later.

The suspect, identified in previous court records as Kuhkpaw Moo, was ten feet away when he was shot. He was disarmed and handcuffed and later died from multiple gunshot wounds, the report said.

In the report, Martino cleared the officers of any criminal wrongdoing, saying they fired their weapons because they believed it was necessary to protect themselves and others and that it constituted reasonable defensive force.

“The officers had every reason to believe that the Complainant had just attacked his girlfriend and (the second victim) with a knife. The evidence was graphically displayed before them,” Martino writes.

At the scene, SIU investigators found blood in the home’s kitchen, on the banisters and walls of the stairwell, in the upstairs bedroom, and on the floor and walls of the upstairs bathroom, the report states.

“And here he was standing up with a bloody knife in his right hand and advancing on the officers. The complainant’s intent could not have been clearer, as the officers were now in danger of grievous bodily harm or death.”

Speaking to CBC News on Friday, Breanna’s father, Brett Broadfoot, said he was grateful the officers were cleared. “They weren’t just trying to protect their own lives, they were trying to save our daughter’s life as well,” he said.

“We know how traumatic it can be to do what they have to do, and we want them to know they have our support should they need us. We really thank them for their efforts.”

Broadfoot’s family told CBC News in July that Breanna was being supported by Middlesex-London Victim Services following a violent incident involving the same man in March.

Court documents obtained by CBC News show Moo was charged with assault and strangulation, strangulation or suffocation after an alleged incident involving Broadfoot in March and is scheduled to appear in court on July 31.

Documents show Moo was released the same day he was arrested, March 15, with an order not to contact or approach Broadfoot. He was also ordered not to possess any weapons.

appearing before another parliamentary committee earlier this monthBroadfoot’s brother Lucas called for better education, more support for survivors and justice system reforms to ensure perpetrators of domestic violence “are not allowed to continue their harmful behavior unchallenged.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing this problem, here are places to get help:

Support is available for anyone affected by family or intimate partner violence. crisis lines and local support services. If you are in immediate danger or fear for the safety of yourself or those around you, please call 911.

in London, Support is also provided through . Anova, Atlosha Native Family Healing Services, London Center for Exploited Women, Regional Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment CenterAnd Middlesex-London Victim Services.