Ontario police officer shot colleague 10 times in violent dispute in 2018. Both walk away conviction free

Samantha Beattie · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 25, 2024 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Years after two Ontario police officers got into a violent altercation in broad daylight that ended in one shooting the other 10 times, both have walked away with no convictions. 

Det.-Sgt. Shane Donovan, who was with the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS), was acquitted this spring of perjury — the last charge linked to the six-year saga with Const. Nathan Parker that involved multiple police agencies, investigations and trials.

“The law is quite clear,” Justice Joseph Nadel told a Hamilton courtroom in May.

“If I believe Sgt. Donovan, I have to acquit him.” 

On Nov. 29, 2018, Donovan and Parker were investigating a car crash at a rural intersection near Niagara Falls, Ont. 

Parker was directing traffic, but left to use the bathroom. When he returned to his post, Donovan confronted him and a fight ensued. 

Donovan later testified that Parker pushed and hit him and pulled his baton. When Parker reached for his gun, Donovan drew his own and began firing in self-defence. 

Parker was shot in the cheek, nose, shoulder, thigh, calf, hip, abdomen and foot but survived. 

“This incident was a dog’s breakfast for the police service,” Nadel said. “You’ve got two officers fighting each other. One gets shot. This was a horrific incident.” 

Officer accessed ‘key evidence’

Donovan was initially charged with attempted murder and assault, as recommended by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the police watchdog that investigated the incident. 

But as evidence mounted that Donovan was acting in self-defence and there wasn’t a reasonable prospect of conviction, the Crown decided to withdraw the charges. 

Parker was then charged for assaulting Donovan with a weapon.

Parker’s trial, held over several days in 2021, centred on Donovan testifying about the fight. 

But the trial stalled when it came to light that Donovan was in possession of a USB stick containing evidence from the SIU’s initial investigation, although he denied reviewing many of the documents. 

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were called in to do a forensic examination.  

They found Donovan had seen “key evidence,” including Parker’s statements and medical records and statements of key civilian witnesses — enough to “taint” his testimony, according to an OPP statement read in court in December 2021. 

As a result, Parker’s charges were withdrawn.

Donovan was then charged with perjury by the Hamilton Police Service, with the Crown alleging he’d lied on the stand. 

PTSD impacted memory: defence

The trial took place this spring, with Donovan denying any intention of misleading the court, defence lawyer Dean Paquette told the judge in May. 

Donovan has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to the incident, which can negatively impact memory, said neuroscientist Neil Fournier, a professor at Trent University who testified as an expert witness for the defence. 

At Parker’s trial, Donovan was being asked to relive a “traumatic event” that may have made it challenging to recall what evidence he had access to, Fournier said. 

He may have been “completely unaware” that what he was saying was inaccurate, said Fournier. 

Assistant Crown attorney Rose Branton argued PTSD “does not delete memories.” 

She said testifying was not new to Donovan. As a police officer, he’d taken the stand more than 200 times over his 20–year career and during Parker’s trial had been able to recount the altercation in detail. 

Road rage charge withdrawn

Nadel said he didn’t believe Donovan intentionally lied to the court and suggested the perjury charge against Donovan was “a halfway point — a way to end a very long and expensive prosecution.” 

While PTSD may have impacted Donovan’s memory, that’s not why Nadel acquitted him, the judge said. 

“I’ve looked at all the evidence, Nadel said. “I’ve watched him testify. I’ve seen the inconsistency, but no more than that.” 

Parker, 58, also had other, unrelated criminal charges withdrawn in recent years, including for an alleged road rage incident in 2021. 

Parker was off duty when he left his vehicle and punched another vehicle’s window, causing damage and prompting the other driver to call 911, according to NRPS. He was charged with assault and mischief under $5,000. 

He entered into a peace bond two years later, in July 2023, which resulted in his charges being withdrawn, according to the courthouse in St. Catharines.