Gatineau, May 17, 2013. – Further to the investigation by Gatineau police (SPVG) into the major intervention on Saturday, May 11 on rue Saint-Louis in the Gatineau sector, the SPVG has good reason to believe that the female police officer's bullet injury was indeed the result of an accidental discharge.

Although investigators must wait a few weeks before they receive certain scientific expert findings, meetings with several witnesses and the police officer's testimony have helped shed light on the sequence of events.

Police officers intervened in full darkness in a wooded area along the Gatineau river in response to a call reporting disorderly conduct by a group of some 20 people. The initial 911 call indicated that one or more firearms were involved. As the intervention was taking place under particularly difficult and very stressful conditions, the female police officer fell after tripping over branches on the ground. It was on the heels of this fall that an accidental shot was fired. The officer then became aware that she had sustained a leg injury, without realizing that the bullet had come from her weapon.

SPVG management have reviewed the investigation findings, and would like to make it clear that there will be no charges or disciplinary measures against the police officer. The circumstances and factors available to the police responding to the 911 call justified their having drawn their weapons. Moreover, the evidence indicates that the police officer's firearm was pointing down, which confirms that she was following the rules of safe handling, and that there was clearly neither negligence nor intent to injure in the use of a firearm.

The investigation continues, and charges could be laid

The major intervention on May 11 and 12 led to the arrest of a 20 year-old man, who had escaped an institution and had several warrants against him. This investigation continues, and charges could soon be laid in this matter.

In regard to the firearms reported in the initial 911 call, no weapon was found. Nonetheless, several testimonies by witnesses who were interviewed confirm that at least one individual had a firearm before police arrived. However, the investigation indicates that it may have been an air gun.

What is a sympathetic squeeze response?

A sympathetic squeeze response is an involuntary anatomical and physiological movement. Several factors could trigger a sympathetic squeeze response, for instance:

• being startled by the sudden and unexpected appearance of an individual, a noise or an object;
• a postural disruption caused simply by a loss of balance (for example when climbing stairs or falling); or
• the use of maximum exertion, which involves the connection between muscles and nerves: an example of this would be an individual using a lot of force with the left hand, who would find the muscles of the right hand activated to within 20% of the maximum force exerted by the other hand, thereby resulting in an entirely involuntary muscle contraction that can still be strong enough to put pressure on the trigger.

While the investigation indicates that this was an accident during a high-risk intervention in darkness, the sympathetic squeeze response is not being ruled out, and may have played a role in the sequence of events.