‘The driver was a threat’: Chatham-Kent OPP officer testifies in his manslaughter trial

An OPP officer took the stand in his own defence on Thursday in a manslaughter trial. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske has more.

Const. Sean O’Rourke, 57, told the court Thursday the sequence of events that led to the death of Nicholas Grieves, 24.

Around 4:30 a.m. on July 7, 2021, court learned Grieves and two passengers knowingly stole $40 in gas from the Dutton OnRoute service centre.

O’Rourke conceded it wasn’t the most serious offence, but in his “experience,” it likely wasn’t an honest mistake given the time of day. He suspected the vehicle was stolen.

He and Sgt. Bradley Cook spotted the sedan not far down the 401. O’Rourke said the plan was not to chase the vehicle, but to conduct a “tandem stop.”

How Grieves reacted to that tandem stop changed how O’Rourke reacted, he told the court Thursday.

Contrary to Cook’s evidence, O’Rourke said Grieves was “weaving” back and forth in the slow lane, although not a high rate of speed.

O’Rourke went in front of Grieves – in an unmarked SUV – while Cook was behind in a fully decaled cruiser.

O’Rourke slowed down and waited for the highway to be straight, after the bends near Kenesserie Road.

He told the court he could tell Grieves was getting frustrated with the slow speed and would try to pass.

O’Rourke turned on his rear emergency lights – Cook put all emergency lights on.

Grieves then tried to pass on the right, before coming back into the slow lane.

O’Rourke then had to straddle the lanes when Grieves tried to pass on the left.

“He was motivated to flea,” O’Rourke testified.

The officer said he was shocked when Grieves “rammed” into his cruiser.

At this point, O’Rourke said Grieves’ car spun out of control, turning counterclockwise towards the center median.

The car went backwards into the ditch, struck the median high-tension wires; the force of which “lifted” the passenger side tires off the ground, according to O’Rourke.

“The wheels were spinning. The mud was flying. The muffler was obnoxiously loud,” O’Rourke said, testifying he believed Grieves was trying to get out of the ditch and back on the highway.

The ditch was full of water from a heavy overnight rainfall, court has learned.

“The driver was a threat,” O’Rourke said. “He (Grieves) didn’t care about the public. He didn’t care about his passengers. He was focused on getting away.”

By the time O’Rourke’s cruiser and Grieves’ sedan stopped moving, they were parallel on the side of the road. A position O’Rourke said was not ideal.

“His (Grieves’) eyes were crazed,” the officer said.

He left his cruiser, pulled his firearm, straightened his arms and walked towards the sedan, downwards on the ditch slope.

“I didn’t slip backwards, I stumbled forward and with the angle of the slope and losing my balance forward, I was basically propelled into the car,” O’Rourke said his entire upper body was in the car, his lower body against the door.

O’Rourke insisted Thursday his finger was not on the trigger but rather the slide of his police-issued Glock 9mm handgun.

“The gun itself was completely accessible to the two front passengers, and I just wanted to get out of there,” O’Rourke said.

O’Rourke said he was shocked, terrified, and panicked when he realized his gun had gone off.

“I was hoping it was a through and through,” O’Rourke said.

Court has learned Grieves was shot through the right deltoid. The bullet travelled across his chest, severing two main arteries to the upper limbs.

O’Rourke and Cook pulled Grieves out of the car and tried to save him but were unsuccessful.

Grieves was rushed to hospital by paramedics and pronounced dead by staff at the Emergency Room.

O’Rourke was emotional at times during his testimony, specifically when he spoke negatively about Grieves and how the young man was driving.

“I can’t figure out what happened,” O’Rourke said. “I had zero intention of deploying a round.”

O’Rourke will be cross-examined Friday.