The family of Rodger Kotanko is “shocked and saddened” at the findings of the Special Investigations Unit.
In a statement released by the family, it says that they are disappointed that the province’s SIU has decided not to lay charges against the Toronto police officer who fired the fatal shot, noting it as a military style take down.
The family lawyer Michael Smitiuch of Smitiuch Injury Law PC says that “the Kotanko family is taking time to review and absorb the report, and try to understand how a customer’s life could be endangered and Rodger killed without a single police officer taking any responsibility.”
The family will have more to say about the SIU report at a news conference next week.
Written by Matt LeBlanc.
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The full statement can be found below:
The family of a 70-year-old gunsmith who was shot and killed by Toronto police in a military style take down at his home outside Port Dover on November 3, 2021, is disappointed that the province’s Special Investigations Unit has decided not to lay charges against the Toronto police officer who fired the fatal shot.
“The family is shocked and saddened by the findings,” said Michael Smitiuch of Smitiuch Injury Law PC, the lawyer representing the Kotanko family. “The Kotanko family is taking time to review and absorb the report, and try to understand how a customer’s life could be endangered and Rodger killed without a single police officer taking any responsibility.”
The Kotanko family has filed a civil suit against the Toronto Police Services Board, five officers, including the officer who fired the fatal shots, as well as Inspector Norman Proctor, head of the Gun & Gang Task Force and Police Chief James Ramer.
In the Statement of Claim, it’s alleged that the search warrant was unlawfully executed, as it was not presented the day of the raid and was obtained using irrelevant and prejudicial information. It’s also alleged that police recklessly targeted Kotanko, negligently planned the raid, and exercised excessive and unjustifiable force when they stormed his home workshop on Port Ryerse Road, firing four shots into him as he met with a customer.
The family will have more to say about the SIU report at a news conference next week.