Altercation between police and man believed to be mentally challenged ends with shooting – allegedly with rubber bullets

A man, who is believed to be mentally challenged, was shot by the
police on Thursday afternoon, August 31, in the vicinity of the Valley
Road Service Station and the Central Marketing Corporation (CMC)
in St. John’s.

Reports say the man, said to be the son of a well-known media and
sports enthusiast, is recovering from surgery at the Sir Lester Bird
Medical Centre, where, reportedly, he had a “shattered” kidney
removed.

A video now in wide circulation shows armed officers approaching
the man, who can be seen picking up an object from the ground and
pelting it at one of the lawmen.  

It is believed that the object struck the officer in the head, and the
man was then seen running and dodging behind a vehicle.

On the video, the officer gives chase and fires a shot at the man – in
full view of onlookers and in the midst of moving traffic. Shortly
afterwards, another shot rings out, and some vehicles are seen to
swerve and then come to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road.

The video also shows pedestrians trying to escape from the scene.
Reportedly the man was shot, as there was a blood stain on his shirt
in the lower abdomen area.

Other reports say that, after being hit, the man continued to walk in
the direction of Courts Furnishings, with what appeared to be a
weapon of some sort in his hand.

Then, it is alleged that another shot rang out as he turned left onto
Market Street near the Industrial Workshop for the Blind.
The officers did not continue to follow him on foot, but jumped back
into their vehicle.

The man allegedly collapsed on Corn Alley, in front of the former
Perry building, and someone placed a “pillow” beneath his head as
he lay motionless and bleeding on the sidewalk.

It is unclear what led to the altercation, but some critics are saying
that officers need proper training to deal with issues such as these,
as innocent members of the public could have been hurt when the
police fired on the man.

Earlier, some reports claimed that the police had discharged rubber
bullets and not live rounds. Apparently, these reports were wrong.