A provincial coroner has set a date for an investigation into a police shooting of a man in Haliburton, Ont., in 2020.
Leslie Hegedus, 73, passed away in hospital after an encounter with Haliburton Highlands OPP on July 15, 2020.
According to Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, Hegedus first attacked employees at a grocery store in Minden earlier that day following a disagreement about wearing a face mask.
Police were called and followed Hegedus as he drove away from the store and led them to his residence on Indian Point Road, just north of Haliburton.
The SIU stated that officers did not follow him directly, but instead used the vehicle license plate to determine his address.
The SIU found that Hegedeus was concealed in bushes and fired a rifle twice at one of the two officers who arrived at the scene. The officers returned fire, hitting Hegedus three times, according to the SIU report.
After its investigation, the SIU cleared the two officers in July 2021, stating that the use of force was “reasonable and proportionate.”
An eight-day investigation into the death is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22, and will hear from five witnesses, announced Paul Dungey, the East Region regional supervising coroner, on Thursday.
A jury may make recommendations to help prevent similar deaths.
Dr. Jennifer Clara Tang will be in charge, and Kim Motyl will be part of the investigation team.
The investigation will be done through video conference. The public can watch the proceedings live at this link.
