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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.
CBC
16-05-2025
- CBC
OPP officer accused of manslaughter says he tripped, fell into suspect car
Const. Sean O'Rourke on Thursday testified that he tripped and fell into the car Nicholas Grieves was driving shortly before Grieves' death — and that he doesn't know how the gun he was carrying went off. O'Rourke is on trial this week for manslaughter in a judge-alone trial in Chatham Superior court. He has pleaded not guilty. Grieves, 24, was living in Windsor at the time of his death and was a member of Six Nations of the Grand River. On July 7, 2021, the OPP responded to a call about a gasoline theft at a gas station along Highway 401 in Dutton, Ont. Officers located the vehicle, believed to be travelling westbound, and followed it. "A theft fuel call is almost all the times coupled with more serious criminal activities," O'Rourke told the court as the rationale for making the pursuit. O'Rourke said the car's "continuous weaving" made him believe the driver was impaired, fatigued or texting while driving. O'Rourke said he and another officer, Sgt. Bradley Cooke — who testified Tuesday — agreed to perform a tandem stop, in which a vehicle is boxed in to stop it. But O'Rourke said Grieves kept accelerating. "The operator of the vehicle came over into my lane and rammed the front of my trooper," he said. "It was shocking. It astonished me … I never had anyone ram my police vehicle let alone at 100 kilometres [an hour] … it was very violent, unexpected and intentional." 'Neither the passenger nor the driver were obeying commands' O'Rourke said after the impact, he saw Grieves' car spin and land in the ditch. "It conducted a full 360 [degree] turn," he said, adding that the vehicle's passenger side tires lifted off the ground several inches. O'Rourke said he then could see the driver in his rear view mirror and understood there was a front passenger, too. "I could directly see into the eyes of the driver. His eyes were extremely crazed, bugging out of his face," he told the court. O'Rourke said he saw the driver looking at the centre console, which he found "concerning," and thought Grieves was trying to get a weapon. "The Grieves family will have to excuse me but this driver was completely crazed. He didn't care about me." O'Rourke says he drew his firearm and started ordering the driver to show his hands. "Neither the passenger nor the driver were obeying commands … their hands were down." 'The gun went off… I didn't know how' O'Rourke said he stepped forward to see what the driver was doing as he kept rummaging through the centre console. "I stumbled forward, much like stubbing a toe on a piece of furniture … losing balance and I was propelled into the car," he said. O'Rourke said his hands and shoulders were now in the car as he kept holding his gun with his elbows locked out and arms extended, with his gun accessible to the front seat passengers. He demonstrated to the court how he was holding his gun with both hands with his fingers on the firearm's slide. O'Rourke said he didn't see a gun inside and started struggling to get free. "The gun went off. It completely shocked me. I didn't know why. I didn't know how," he told the court in tears. He said he removed himself from the car and immediately administered first aid. He told the court they performed CPR on Grieves and he also did an artificial resuscitation, and eventually EMS arrived and took over. O'Rourke says he felt his actions met the bar for the police use of force model, which says there must be a risk of serious bodily harm or death. The model was discussed in Wednesday's court proceedings. "There's no question. I absolutely felt that the situation met the mandate of serious bodily harm or death," he said. On Wednesday, a firearms expert who had examined O'Rourke's gun testified it was in good working order. The Crown is expected to cross-examine O'Rourke on Friday. O'Rourke, who joined the Chatham-Kent OPP detachment in 2004, has been suspended with pay since being charged by the unit in 2022.
CBC
15-05-2025
- CBC
Chatham OPP constable in manslaughter trial says his gun went off — but he doesn't know how
OPP Const. Sean O'Rourke is on trial for manslaughter in the shooting death of 24-year-old Nicholas Grieves. On the fourth day of the trial, the court heard from O'Rourke himself on his actions in the early hours of July 7, 2021. The CBC's Pratyush Dayal reports.
CTV News
13-05-2025
- CTV News
‘I think my gun went off': Manslaughter trial of Chatham-Kent OPP officer continues in superior court.
Const. Sean O'Rourke, 57, has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of manslaughter for the July 7, 2021 death of Nicholas Grieves, 24. Grieves, and two other passengers, stole $40 in gas from the Dutton OnRoute around 4:30 a.m. before driving towards Windsor in the westbound lanes. Scene of shooting Scene of incident along Highway 401 in Chatham-Kent. (Source: SIU, via the Superior Court of Chatham) O'Rourke and Sergeant Bradley Cook responded to the call and went straight to the 401 where they 'hid' under the Orford Road overpass. Cook told the court Tuesday the officers had no intention to chase the car but planned to execute a 'tandem stop', using their cruisers. It didn't take long – Cook said - until they say Grieves vehicle, 'driving normally' past them. It was not speeding, he testified. They pulled out behind Grieves and followed him; O'Rourke in an 'subdued' – aka unmarked - Dodge Durango with Cook in a fully decaled SUV. When Grieves attempted to pass a transport truck, O'Rourke was in his lane, blocking the path. Cook told the court Grieves then tried to drive in-between the truck and cruiser so O'Rourke put on his emergency lights. At that point, Grieves' car 'spun out' a full 360 degrees before crossing into the fast lane, over the rumble strips and into the water-filled center median. Cook testified Grieves tried to get out of the ditch by revving the engine but got stuck. He told the court he saw O'Rourke with his firearm pointed towards the car but did not hear a gunshot. He did, however, hear O'Rourke say, 'I think my gun went off', before crossing in front of the car to the driver. Both officers pulled Grieves out of the drivers seat and started CPR on the grassy hill. Paramedics would take over and rush him to hospital where Grieves was pronounced dead. Cook described O'Rourke as 'calm' during the entire incident but 'shaken' afterwards when he was escorted back to the detachment. The trial will continue Wednesday.
CBC
13-05-2025
- CBC
OPP officer at scene of shooting tells court officer's gun 'went off'
The court heard dramatic new details Tuesday in the manslaughter trial of Ontario Provincial Police Const. Sean O'Rourke. A fellow OPP officer who was with O'Rourke at the time of the shooting said he heard the officer say his gun went off. "He uttered, he thinks his firearm went off, 'I think my gun went off,'" Sgt. Bradley Cooke told the court. The judge-alone trial began Monday in the Superior Court of Justice in Chatham. O'Rourke is on trial for manslaughter in the July 2021 death of Nicholas Edward Grieves, 24, a member of Six Nations of the Grand River living in Windsor. O'Rourke has pleaded not guilty. On Tuesday, the court heard from officers who were with O'Rourke in the moments before and after the shooting. On July 7, 2021, OPP responded to a call about a gasoline theft of $40 at a Dutton gas station. Officers located the vehicle believed to be involved travelling westbound on Highway 401 and followed it. Cooke was one of them. He told the court Tuesday that he was driving a marked vehicle behind O'Rourke's unmarked grey vehicle. The uniformed officer told the court that their plan since receiving the dispatch call was to follow a tandem stop, a procedure in which a vehicle is boxed in as a way to stop it. Cooke said Grieves "didn't seem to be speeding." While Cooke was driving in the right hand lane behind him, he said O'Rourke was in the left hand lane "pretty much was driving next to the suspect vehicle." Soon enough, Cooke said he activated lights and sirens and immediately saw Grieves' car swerve a couple of times. "It spun out, felt like a slow motion, but happened quickly, a 360, and went into the centre median… anticlockwise into the ditch," he said, noting he could hear the wheels spinning and car's muffler being very loud. "Const. O'Rourke pulled quickly into the ditch where the suspect vehicle was." Upon exiting his police cruiser, Cooke said heard screaming coming from inside the car. "Const. O'Rourke had both of his hands with a firearm pointed to the vehicle," he said. Cooke said he saw O'Rourke draw his weapon but did not draw his own. Cooke recounts hearing O'Rourke say his firearm went off Crown Attorney Jason Nicol asked whether Cooke heard a gunshot and the officer said he didn't — but told the court he heard O'Rourke saying his firearm went off while still pointing to the car. Cooke said they pulled Grieves out of the car as he was unresponsive but didn't see any visible injuries. When they took his red T-shirt off, Cooke said "there was a bullet shot in his right arm." "He was breathing but wasn't conscious." Shortly, Cooke said Grieves stopped breathing and they conducted CPR for a while until the EMS arrived and took over. 'Above and beyond,' says OPP colleague says of O'Rourke OPP Const. Lisa Peck, who was also on duty that day was also nearing the scene after having heard over radio O'Rourke asking for EMS citing a gunshot wound. "I know a firearm had been discharged. I don't have any other specifics," she told the court. She said that upon arrival she saw O'Rourke and Cooke performing CPR and she aided other companions of Grieves in the car. During examination by O'Rourke's lawyer, Sandy Khehra, Peck said she had known O'Rourke for 17 years. "Above and beyond," she said of O'Rourke's work ethic. "Skilled, passionate about his job, he will help anyone improve their skills." Two expert Crown witnesses for expected Wednesday. O'Rourke, who joined the Chatham-Kent OPP detachment in 2004, has been suspended with pay since being charged by the unit in 2022. The trial is expected to last two weeks.
