A Toronto police officer has pleaded guilty to assault and careless use of a firearm in a 2023 shooting that left a man seriously injured.
Warning: This article contains graphic content.
Body camera video played in court shows how the police response to an unhoused man with a sheathed knife went wrong in minutes, with one Toronto officer firing two shots even as the man was backing away.
The two videos, from February 2023, show officers getting out of their cars next to a park on Tretheway Drive near Black Creek Drive to find Devon Fowlin and his dog. They were responding to a call from a person who believed the Black man was going to harm his dog.
As Fowlin’s dog runs around off-leash in the park, Const. Sarah Richards speaks with Fowlin for about 30 seconds before noticing his knife in his waistband, prompting her to pull out her taser, and order him to the ground.
According to an agreed statement of facts in the case, Fowlin said, “Hey, hey, hey,” and backpedaled, but didn’t withdraw the knife. About 10 seconds later, Richards fires the taser, which didn’t penetrate Fowlin’s winter coat.
Another officer, Const. Andrew Davis, who had been with the force for 53 weeks, can be heard reasoning with Fowlin. “Why do you have a knife on you?” he asks, while Fowlin responds, “I’m not doing anything.”
Const. Davis, by that point, had drawn his gun, which was consistent with his training of “lethal overwatch” – meaning if less-lethal methods of force don’t work, officers can use their firearms.
Fowlin then pulled his knife from his waistband sheath and drew the blade across his neck, causing visible bleeding. That’s when Const. Richards yells, “Oh my god, shoot him.”
It’s unclear from the video who she is speaking to. The court heard she was the second-most senior officer present. Another officer discharges his taser. Const. Davis fires two shots, which hit Fowlin in the right wrist, right chest abdomen and hip.
Fowlin flees and Const. Davis can be seen on the video chasing after him, taking him down on a nearby roadway before he is brought to the hospital. Const. Davis is among the officers who retrieve Fowlin’s dog.
On Wednesday morning, Davis pleaded guilty to assault and using a firearm without lawful excuse.
A report from Toronto’s police chief in 2024 found Davis used unnecessary force against Fowlin and didn’t properly de-escalate.
Fowlin had been a former ramp employee at Toronto Pearson airport, but had lost his job there and hadn’t been able to find another one, according to an agreed statement of facts.
At the time of the incident, he was experiencing homelessness, living out of his vehicle near the park. He denied having mental health issues, but the court heard he had had one previous Mental Health Act related interaction.
This case is an example of how Toronto needs to prioritize nonviolent responses to people who may be in mental health crisis, said activist Desmond Cole.
“It’s a miracle that Devon survived this incident,” he said.
“This is going to happen again until our city decides that, particularly in situations of mental health crisis, there is a non-police, non-lethal response. This is guaranteed to happen again.”
Fowlin is suing the officers and the Toronto Police Service, said his lawyer, David Shellnutt.
“Their response to a person who needed immediate support was to shoot and attempt to kill him,” Shellnutt said. “I think that should rock the foundations of policing here in Toronto and across the province. It’s a miracle he wasn’t killed.”