MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Ontario's police watchdog says it's investigating a Hamilton police officer in relation to the fatal shooting last year of a young man hailed as a Good Samaritan.
Yosif Al-Hasnawi, 19, was shot while trying to help an older man, who was accosted outside his mosque by two other men in December 2017.
Two Hamilton paramedics accused of failing to respond properly to Hasnawi's pleas for help are facing charges and their union says they have been fired from their jobs.
The Special Investigations Unit says that given allegations in the media at the time regarding the actions of first responders at the scene, including police, it assessed whether to invoke its mandate.
Based on the results of those preliminary inquiries, the SIU said Friday that it is investigating the role of one Hamilton officer in relation to the incident.
The SIU is an arm's-length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
Witnesses alleged the responding paramedics accused Al-Hasnawi of exaggerating the extent of his injuries and took too long to treat him and take him to hospital.
Hamilton police charged one man with second-degree murder and another with accessory after the fact shortly after the incident. Niagara regional police were then called in to investigate the way paramedics handled the case.
Paramedics Chris Marchant and Steve Snively were informed of their firing a week after they were charged with failure to provide the necessaries of life, Mario Posteraro, head of OPSEU Local 256, said in a statement on Aug. 8.
Marchant, 29, and Snively, 53, were released after their arrests and are set to appear in court next month.
Al-Hasnawi's father and two brothers filed a still unproven civil lawsuit in January against Hamilton's paramedics, alleging they failed to treat their relative properly and that his death had caused the family extreme emotional and mental distress. Among others, the suit also named Hamilton police and the two men charged with shooting him.
Police described Al-Hasnawi as a brave young man who had been trying to do the right thing.
