Latest news with #SeanORourke
The Independent
07-08-2025
- Health
- The Independent
How baby's head size led to rare medical diagnosis
A baby boy has been successfully treated for a one-in-a-million brain condition using a pioneering surgical technique, after doctors spotted the rare illness during an unrelated check-up. Conor O'Rourke, now aged three, underwent the world-first procedure for Vein of Galen Malformation (VOGM) at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. The condition, which affects approximately 10 to 12 babies in the UK annually, causes the veins and arteries in the brain to connect abnormally. This leads to increased blood flow and can result in severe complications if undetected. Conor was part of a rare subgroup of patients, meaning conventional treatments were ineffective for his specific case. His mother, Lucy O'Rourke, 36, from Bolton, described the last couple of years as an "out of body experience" for her and husband Sean O'Rourke, 38, as they navigated their son's rare condition. She recalled that Conor was around eight or nine months old when she took him to an appointment for a potential umbilical hernia, a usually harmless condition when the intestines bulge through the opening in muscle near the belly button. She said: 'He was looking at his belly button, and then suddenly wanted to ask me questions about his head. 'And obviously I was slightly confused at that point. I didn't really know what the issue was, I'm just looking at my beautiful baby, and didn't think that there was an issue.' Mrs O'Rourke said the consultant asked about the shape of her son's head, adding: 'He felt like he had quite a pronounced forehead; it was quite a large head. 'And he had very visible veins on his forehead, and his temples, round his eyes. And we had seen those things, but obviously we didn't in a million years think that there was something sinister going on. 'We thought he was very fair skinned, and that was why we could see his veins. 'Looking back now, I look at pictures, and I think, 'oh yeah, you can sort of see now', knowing what we know. But in that moment in time, I was a new mum, first-time mum, didn't really spot anything untoward, really.' Mrs O'Rourke said that at the time of the appointment, Conor had not yet sat up on his own but had met all his other milestones. She was warned to take her son to A&E if he suddenly started vomiting or was difficult to rouse after sleeping, although she was reassured it was probably nothing to worry about. However, Mrs O'Rourke said the conversation played on her mind, and she called her GP the following day. Conor was sent for an MRI in March 2023 and the couple were not worried until they were called into a family room. At that stage, doctors did not know what was wrong with Conor but told the family he had a 'significant brain issue' that would require surgery. The results were assessed by specialists at another hospital, with more scans ordered for Conor. 'It was only after those scans that they said to us that they think that it's vein of galen malformation and then started to explain to us a little bit what that meant,' Mrs O'Rourke said. 'But in reality, they'd never seen it before in Bolton.' Mrs O'Rourke said the experience was 'terrifying' and the couple felt 'helpless'. 'Throughout the whole of this, really, it's definitely been a bit of an out of body experience,' she told PA. Conor was sent to Alder Hey and had three operations called endovascular embolisations, which involves inserting a small, flexible tube called a catheter into the arteries, usually from the groin. Medics use X-ray imaging to guide the tube through the body and into place, and then inject a glue-like substance to block off the artery. In some cases, the same procedure can be performed by inserting the catheter into the veins. However, Conor is one of a rare subgroup of patients where veins block off and doctors can no longer get to the malformation. When this happens, the jugular veins – a set of major blood vessels in the neck – also block off, causing the veins from the brain to try and drain elsewhere. According to the toddler's surgeon, Conor Mallucci, this was causing swelling and damage to the toddler's brain stem and spinal cord, leading him to deteriorate. Mr Mallucci told PA: 'It's a fight against time, and that happened quite early in Conor, which is why we had to come up with this alternative route.' The operation involved accessing the malformation through Conor's skull to target the affected blood vessels. He recovered well and is now considered '99 per cent cured' by Mr Mallucci. Mrs O'Rourke said the family feels lucky in some ways. She said: 'As much as I feel like this is an incredibly unlucky diagnosis, I sometimes have to pull that back and think actually we were incredibly lucky in a lot of ways. 'We were already under a consultant at Royal Manchester Children's, who mentioned something. 'And then we were also incredibly lucky, in a way, that I'm very much an over-thinker, and I was an anxious mum, to not leave it there. 'And thank goodness that we did. Because if we didn't, I don't know where we would actually be.' Conor recently graduated from nursery and will be attending pre-school with his peers in September. Mrs O'Rourke said she is 'so proud' of her 'resilient' son, adding: 'At one point they were saying, 'we may want to hold him back' and 'maybe it might be a bit too much for him'. But they've said now that they think he's doing incredibly well. 'That's brilliant. And it was just magical to see him.' Mr O'Rourke has also committed to running the Manchester Marathon next April to raise money for Alder Hey. 'Thank you just doesn't cut it,' Mrs O'Rourke said. 'They not only saved his life, they saved ours too.'
CTV News
26-06-2025
- CTV News
Chatham-Kent OPP officer under investigation of Professional Standards Branch
An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) patch is seen in Ottawa, on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby A Chatham-Kent OPP officer is under investigation of the OPP's Professional Standards Branch after being acquitted of manslaughter earlier in the week. Const. Sean O'Rourke was acquitted in the death of 24-year-old Nicholas Grieves, who was killed on July 7, 2021 while behind the wheel of his car. O'Rourke, who's now 58, was charged with manslaughter and found not guilty on Tuesday. Court learned that the officer was responding to a gas theft and when he tried to pull Grieves over on Highway 401, the car struck the police cruiser, spun out, and ended up in the ditch. The court ruled there was a serious threat to O'Rourke's safety and his gun was fired accidentally. O'Rourke is still suspended from duty with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation by the Professional Standards Branch.
CBC
25-06-2025
- CBC
Chatham-Kent OPP officer not guilty of manslaughter in 2021 shooting death
A Chatham-Kent Ontario Provincial Police officer has been found not guilty in the 2021 shooting death of a man from Six Nations of the Grand River near Brantford. Justice Bruce Thomas released his decision in Superior Court on Tuesday, nearly a month after Const. Sean O'Rourke's judge-alone manslaughter trial had ended. The CBC's Pratyush Dayal reports.
CTV News
25-06-2025
- CTV News
‘No criminal conduct': Chatham-Kent OPP officer found not guilty of manslaughter
Const. Sean O'Rourke, 58, was acquitted Tuesday in the on-duty death of Nicholas Grieves, 24. He was shot and killed on July 7, 2021, while seated behind the wheel of his car, in the center median of Highway 401 near Highgate. Constable O'Rourke pulled Grieves' vehicle over for a theft of $40 in gas from the Dutton ONRoute. O'Rourke testified at trial that Grieves did not pull his car over after the emergency lights were turned on. He also alleged Grieves rammed into his cruiser. O'Rourke told the court he doesn't know why his handgun went off after he tripped and stumbled into the front seat of Grieves' car. Grieves fiancée at the time told the court she is still traumatized by the incident and said the gun went off near her face, while seated in the front passenger seat. Nicholas Grieves Nicholas Grieves. (Source: Angela Keats) O'Rourke acted 'reasonably and objectively' Justice Bruce Thomas' judgment Tuesday took more than 75 minutes to read into the record, in front of a standing-room only courtroom. It was packed with more than 100 people, primarily supports of O'Rourke, with more than a dozen for the Grieves family. Put simply, Justice Thomas rejected the evidence of Grieves' passengers and accepted the evidence of the officer. 'O'Rourke was confronted with a suspect who would do anything to escape,' Justice Thomas said. 'I am not prepared to second guess the officer's decision in these circumstances.' The judge ruled that it was Grieves who struck the officers cruiser in an attempt to get away from police. He said the incident then became 'something more' than a routine traffic stop for a theft of gas. Although the judge characterized O'Rourke's use of a tandem stop as 'aggressive', he agreed with how O'Rourke responded after the cruiser was struck. Grieves drove down into the center median, which was full of water from an early morning rainfall. The judge agreed with O'Rourke's evidence that Grieves continued to try to get out of the ditch by revving the engine, he did not obey commands to put his hands up and Grieves kept looking in the center console. 'Police action should not be judged against a standard of perfection,' Justice Thomas said. 'It must be remembered that police engage in dangerous and demanding work and often have to react quickly to emergencies. Their actions should be judged in light of exigent circumstances.' The judge also agreed with O'Rourke's evidence that he stumbled walking down the slope towards Grieves' car, forcing his upper body into the car. The shell casing for the 9-mm shot at Grieves was found inside the car. The judge further ruled he accepts that O'Rourke's finger slid down onto the trigger as the officer tried to get out of the front seat. 'Const. O'Rourke's gun should never have been fired. Nicholas Grieves should never have been killed,' Justice Thomas said. 'There was, however, no criminal conduct by the officer.' Courtroom reactions One person with the Grieves family was emotional during the judgment. Family members swiftly exited the courthouse Tuesday after the decision. The people in the courtroom in support of O'Rourke didn't make obvious reactions and the officer himself barely reacted. He declined to speak with the media after the judgment, according to his lawyer, Sandip Khehra. 'He just wants his privacy and just wants a moment to reflect,' Khehra said. 'It's been a long almost four years for him.' Khehra said O'Rourke is 'relieved' by the decision. 'As his Honour said, there's still someone that's dead and so its still not really a day of joy but relief, at least for one person.' OPPA statement The Ontario Provincial Police Association issued a statement after O'Rourke's' acquittal. 'The OPP Association supports OPP Provincial Constable Sean O'Rourke Today, PC O'Rourke was acquitted of manslaughter in Ontario Provincial Court in Chatham relating to a line of duty incident that occurred on Highway 401 near Ridgetown, Ontario on July 7, 2021. On that day, a 25yr old man tragically died as PC O'Rourke and other police officers were trying to apprehend the suspect while fleeing police after a theft of gas. The lives of the family of the deceased, our police officers and our civilian members have been forever impacted." OPP Association President John Cerasuolo commented: 'We respect the court's decision and believe it reflects the complexities faced by police officers in dangerous and unpredictable situations. Our officers are dedicated to serving and protecting the citizens of Ontario, often in circumstances beyond their control. This has been an extraordinarily difficult period for all involved, and we remain committed to supporting Provincial Constable O'Rourke, along with all our members and their families, as they continue to navigate the emotional aftermath of this event.' Defence Counsel Sandy Khehra added: 'It is essential that the law recognizes the realities and risks inherent in policing. Police officers are entrusted to use reasonable force to protect themselves and others. We are relieved that the court's decision reflects this understanding.' Available resources: The OPP Association encourage anyone impacted by this situation to reach out and lean on those closest to them, as well as seek professional mental health assistance. For members of the public, the Canadian Mental Health Association has a number of resources on their website The Ontario Provincial Police Association's (OPPA) Encompas Mental Health Wellness Program is available to our members and their families by calling 24/7: 1-866-794-9117 or by visiting Confidential support services are available to all OPP members, families, retirees, and auxiliaries through the OPP's Healthy Workplace Team (HWT) available by phone, toll-free at 1-844-OPP-9409 (1-844-677-9409), or by directly contacting any HWT member.
CBC
23-05-2025
- CBC
Lawyers make closing arguments in OPP officer's manslaughter case
Social Sharing Did OPP Const. Sean O'Rourke trip and fall into the car of Nicholas Grieves, causing his gun to go off? Or was that all a lie to cover up O'Rourke's alleged carelessness — that he never should have drawn and pointed his gun and allowed his finger to come onto the trigger? Lawyers for both the defence and the Crown presented these competing versions of events on Friday in closing arguments at the conclusion of the seven-day manslaughter trial in the Chatham Superior Court of Justice. Grieves, 24, was shot and killed in July 2021 after stealing $40 of gas from a Dutton gas station. Much of the evidence and testimony in the trial has centred on the 87 seconds between when O'Rourke made the decision to turn on his police vehicle lights to stop the car carrying Grieves and two other people and the moment Grieves was shot. Defence lawyer Sandy Khehra said the physical evidence and the basis for O'Rourke's actions was clear. "We cannot expect our police officers to just back off every time there is a situation," Khehra said, positing that any member of the public would expect O'Rourke to act as he did in that situation. "Officer O'Rourke is not the one that created that situation, he reacted to the situation …. Here we are taking two weeks to dissect those 87 seconds." Khehra also drew on the location of the shell casing from O'Rourke's gun — inside the front passenger foot well of the car — as evidence that O'Rourke had tripped and stumbled to come head and shoulders inside the car in the seconds before the gun went off. He also noted the dirt on O'Rourke's pants as further evidence of the stumble. The closing submissions of Crown attorney Jason Nicol were longer. Nicol argued that it was never reasonable for O'Rourke to have drawn, much less pointed, his firearm, and that the gun could only have gone off as a result of O'Rourke pulling the trigger. During his testimony, O'Rourke said Grieves rammed his police vehicle, an action he described as violent, intentional and something that increased the danger of serious harm or death O'Rourke perceived in the situation. The court had heard that serious bodily harm or death was the criteria for police use of force. But Nicol posited the ramming had never happened, and that instead contact between the two cars was incidental and the damage on O'Rourke's car was not significant enough to have come from such a collision. That suggestion prompted stern words from the judge. He acknowledged the alleged ramming was a significant piece of evidence in the case but that accident reconstruction was not completed by the Special Investigations Unit, the police watchdog that investigated the case, or the OPP. "We have a civilian shot to death in the median by a police officer and we have no accident reconstruction," Justice Bruce Thomas said. "It's ridiculous. I am critical of that." Nicol told the court he believed O'Rourke had exaggerated the risk, ignored the innocent possibilities behind the incident and that "it was not reasonable for him to draw his firearm." Even if the judge found it was reasonable for O'Rourke to have drawn his firearm, Nicol said, there was no reason to point it at Grieves and "that was the accused's greatest overreaction in this incident." Khehra said he disagreed. Nicol also suggested that O'Rourke had not stumbled and instead, that he fired the gun from outside the car, not inside as he had told the court. "I cannot see how you can find a stumble doesn't happen," Khehra said in response. Thomas interjected at points with questions and statements for each of the lawyers. "It means this officer had to react in a very short period of time … the other side of the cutting edge, is did he need to?," Thomas said of the 87 seconds during which the incident unfolded. "That's part of my decision." Court will return on June 24 for the judge's decision in the case.
