Toronto police officer who fatally shot renowned gunsmith did so in self-defence, says SIU

Ontario's police watchdog says the Toronto police officer who shot a renowned gunsmith in Simcoe, Ont., did so in self-defence.

Special Investigations Unit director Joseph Martino said in his final report on the case, released Thursday, he found "no reasonable grounds to believe" the officer who shot Rodger Kotanko to death committed a crime. 

Kotanko was pointing a firearm at the officers — who yelled at him to drop it — before he was shot, the report said. 

The watchdog said it interviewed six witness officers, excluding the one who shot Kotanko, and two civilians. They used the notes of seven witness officers, according to the report.

Police were executing a search warrant at the 70-year-old gunsmith's workshop on Nov. 3. 

Search warrant documents previously revealed two Norinco 1911A1 pistols under Kotanko's name were found at crime scenes in Toronto and North Bay, leading police to accuse the gunsmith of illegally transferring them to someone else.

Martino said the officers had "no confusion" as they executed the search warrant. They contacted Ontario Provincial Police in advance but carried out the warrant on their own, the report says.

The report states when the officers met up in nearby Hagersville, they decided how they would approach Kotanko. Given Kotanko's age and lack of violence in his past, they would knock, announce their presence and speak to Kotanko before entering his home or workshop.

The officers then drove to the residence, arriving in unmarked vehicles, the report said. Kotanko and his wife had just returned from a shopping trip. She was unloading groceries from the vehicle to the home, beside the gunsmithing workshop.

The director's report states Kotanko was inside the workshop with a customer who was getting his Norinco 1911A1 pistol fixed for a repair.

The customer said they were planning on dropping off the gun and coming back later, but Kotanko said it would only take 15 minutes to fix, according to the SIU.

That's when officers approached Kotanko's wife and asked for his whereabouts. Then, they announced, with guns drawn, they were executing a search warrant and asked both men to raise their hands, the report says.

Martino said it was "reasonable" officers had their guns drawn given the allegation and the fact the workshop was likely full of guns.

The customer complied but Kotanko didn't despite multiple requests, according to the report.