No charges for police officer who fatally shot Sudanese man in Newfoundland

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. –

Newfoundland and Labrador’s police watchdog says there are no grounds to lay charges against an officer who fatally shot a Sudanese man in St. John’s earlier this year.

The Serious Incident Response Team, known as SIRT-NL, said today in its report that the man who died had two knives and attacked the officer with a hammer before he was shot.

SIRT-NL has not named the man, but members of the Sudanese community in St. John’s say it was Omar Mohammed, a refugee and former child soldier who needed help but didn’t receive it.

The report says Mohammed was shot at a local employment centre on the morning of June 12, less than five minutes after two Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers arrived.

Staff at the centre called police because they recognized Mohammed and knew there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

SIRT-NL says it contracted an “independent, out-of-province” expert in use of force, who concluded that Mohammed posed a serious threat and that the officer’s response was “measured and appropriate.”