Officers 'trained to keep their fingers off the trigger,' gun expert says at manslaughter trial

Pratyush Dayal · CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2025 5:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The 3rd time of the judge-alone proceedings of a Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) serviceman charged successful a fatal shooting heard testimony from a weapon adept and an adept successful firearm grooming procedures and policies astatine OPP.

The proceedings began Monday astatine the Ontario Court of Justice successful Chatham. Const. Sean O'Rourke is charged with manslaughter successful the decease of Nicholas Edward Grieves, a 24-year-old Windsor nonmigratory and subordinate of Six Nations of the Grand River. He has pleaded not guilty. 

On July 7, 2021, OPP responded to a telephone astir a gasoline theft astatine a state presumption on Highway 401 successful Dutton. Officers located the conveyance believed to beryllium progressive travelling westbound connected the road and followed it. Soon enough, Grieves's car swerved a mates of times and ended up successful the ditch.

So far, Crown witnesses person testified that Const. O'Rourke had some of his hands connected a firearm pointed at the conveyance and helium was heard saying that his firearm went off.

Judy Chin from the Centre for Forensic Sciences successful Toronto, who was qualified Wednesday arsenic a firearms expert, had examined O'Rourke's Glock 17M.

"The weapon was moving fine," she testified.

Chin said that she had performed aggregate tests connected the weapon and it was moving arsenic it should person been with nary mechanical oregon structural damage. She explained that the firearm has 3 information features — trigger safety, occurrence pin information and driblet safety. 

"All 3 safeties should beryllium deactivated for the firearm to discharge," noting that the trigger has to beryllium pulled to occurrence the weapon.

Crown Attorney Jason Nicol asked Chin whether the weapon tin "be fired without pulling the trigger."

"For this firearm, the trigger indispensable beryllium pulled. It doesn't person to beryllium a person, but the trigger indispensable beryllium pulled," she replied.

'They are trained to support their fingers disconnected the trigger:' OPP firearm expert

 OPP Inspector Jason Oxby also testified arsenic an adept successful firearm grooming procedures and policies astatine OPP.

Oxby told the tribunal that OPP officers are trained each twelvemonth and are taught that earlier patrols, they should cheque their firearms to spot if they are moving properly.

So far, it has been established that it was acheronian — almost transportation achromatic — during the clip of the incidental successful the wee hours of that July day.

Nicol asked Oxby astir low-light training. He replied that officers are trained successful artificially simulated environments to enactment nether varying lights. Use of flashlights is portion of that training.

"Obviously, police enactment 24-7, truthful astir fractional of their clip volition beryllium spent successful nary airy oregon debased light," helium said.

Khehra asked Oxby about the weapon-mounted light, which is utilized to airy up the subject, saying adjacent though the trigger hasn't been pulled, the weapon tin beryllium kept pointing astatine the taxable to support them illuminated.

Oxby told the tribunal that the "lack of illumination" tin beryllium the crushed to constituent the firearm astatine them.

Khehra besides walked Oxby done his past grounds wherever helium admits "that an mistake tin beryllium made" wherever alternatively of pressing the airy switch, the trigger tin get pulled successful those low-light scenarios.

The tribunal besides heard astir the provincial usage of unit model, which lays retired the circumstances successful which officers tin gully their weapons.

Oxby said officers tin bash so when determination are reasonable grounds that determination is simply a hazard to safety.

"Keep your fingers disconnected the trigger….. Until you mean to fire," Oxby recounted antithetic information procedures, noting officers are trained to support fingers extracurricular the trigger guard.

"They are trained to support their fingers disconnected the trigger."

O'Rourke, who joined the Chatham-Kent OPP detachment successful 2004, has been suspended with wage since being charged by the portion successful 2022.

The trial, which resumes Thursday with the defence's case, is expected to past 2 weeks.