Sarnia Tennis pro Justin Bourassa who was shot by London police and died in October 2021 (Credit: Love-all.ca)
The Ontario coroner’s office has announced an inquest into the death of Justin Bourassa, a Sarnia tennis pro who was shot and killed by a London police officer in October 2021.
The inquest comes almost five years after Bourassa’s death, and three years since the Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) cleared the officer responsible of any criminal charges.
The Office of the Chief Coroner said the reason the inquest comes so long after Bourassas’s death, is that modern inquests have become more complex due to the need for the collection of evidence as well as working with families, counsel, witnesses, and experts.
The inquest will look into the circumstances surrounding the incident and a jury will make recommendations that aim to prevent any future deaths.
Early in the morning on October 28, 2021, 29-year-old Bourassa was in the area of Richmond and Mill streets when he was approached by two London police officers.
The officers were looking for suspects in a nearby break and enter, one officer then held Bourassa as the other approached him with handcuffs.
Bourassa broke free from the officer’s grasp and tried to run away, but officers grabbed him and they all fell to the ground.
While on the ground, Bourassa put one of the officers in a chokehold when the other officer fired and struck him.
Bourassa later died in hospital.
In 2022, the SIU concluded their investigation into the case.
They concluded that the officer did not commit a criminal offence, ‘when he decided to meet a lethal threat to the other officer’s life with a resort to lethal force of his own,’ Director Joeseph Martino said in a 2022 media release.
An inquest is opened any time someone is killed by a use of force from police.
‘The timeframe for completion of third-party investigations and subsequent prosecutions may be anywhere between one and five years (or more) and is outside the control of the Office of the Chief Coroner,’ the Chief coroner’s office said in a statement.
