Iroquois man dead in shooting at OPP detachment

Shooting at Morrisburg OPP detachment – One man is dead after an altercation at the Morrisburg detachment of the OPP December 23rd. The incident was referred by the OPP to the Special Investigations Unit. The scene was cordoned off by investigators for about 24 hours. (The Leader/Blancher photo)

MORRISBURG – Just before noon December 23rd, a shooting incident in the parking lot at the Morrisburg detachment of the OPP killed a civilian from Iroquois.

An initial release from the OPP that afternoon said that a member of the Morrisburg detachment was involved in an altercation with an adult male outside of the detachment.

“During the altercation the adult male sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene,” said Acting Staff Sergeant Chrystal Jones with the OPP. “The officer is being treated for undetermined injuries.”

The OPP notified the province’s Special Investigations Unit which invoked its mandate and was on the scene by 5 p.m. Saturday. The SIU is an arm’s length agency of the province that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.

The scene was cordoned off by police and remained so until Sunday morning.

The SIU identified 43 year old Babak Saidi as the deceased.

“As the family has given us consent to release the man’s name, I am now able to confirm that is the correct name,” said Monica Hudon of the SIU. “At this time, one subject officer and 10 witness officers have been designated.” The SIU had a team of four investigators and three forensic investigators on the scene.

“I definitely heard gunshots,” said one eyewitness who was at the MacEwan gas station across the road at the time. “As I looked over I saw two police officers, one with gun drawn, the other picking himself up off the ground.”

The eyewitness described that a third person, a civilian, laid motionless on the ground near the north entrance to the police building. He later saw a police officer performing CPR on the man who was shot by police.

Saidi’s sister was interviewed by CBC Ottawa on the day of the shooting and told them that her brother suffered from schizophrenia. She said that Saidi was required to check into the detachment weekly following his 2014 conviction for assault and battery. The SIU did not confirm those details.

According to the SIU in its preliminary release, a man entered the OPP detachment located at 6 Fifth Street West. There was an interaction between the man and officers and one of the officers discharged a firearm. The man was struck. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

When asked by The Leader about the condition of the OPP officer with ‘undetermined injuries’, the SIU referred the inquiry to the OPP. The OPP did not provide an update on the officers condition.

A post mortem on Saidi is scheduled for Wednesday in Ottawa.

Note: This article is the print article that was in the December 27th print edition of The Leader. It is based on the initial article from December 23rd and updated throughout December 24th.

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