Toronto PD lie about 70 year old Gunsmith they executed

In a previous post someone commented and said no one wants to be shot by a cop for having legally obtained firearms in their home. That reminded me of the 70 year old gun smith the Toronto Police executed in his home. Since the inquiry has concluded, we need to talk about it.

November 2021 I reported that "Toronto Police execute 70 year old gunsmith in his home." The family held a press conference and filed a wrongful death suit with the Toronto PD.

There were many strange events that surrounded that tragedy. First of all, this was a well renowned gunsmith that did work for his local police force. Second, this was well out of the Toronto Police departments' jurisdiction and they failed to notify the local force of their search warrant. If fact, they even brought an ambulance with them as though they were expecting trouble. 

There are several other anomalies but there are two new pieces of information. The customer the gunsmith was assisting when the police barged in, also filed a lawsuit because the police unnecessarily involved him in that fatal shooting. 

One of the reasons he filed the law suit was because everyone thinks he was a police agent. His lawsuit was a way for him and the police to deny that fact if it was indeed true. 

Police agent or not, his lawsuit confirms the most obvious concern. It states that Rodger Kotanko, the gunsmith executed by the Toronto PD was out shopping with his wife. The alleged police agent said he waited outside for over an hour before Rodger came home to look at his jammed firearm. 

That lawsuit claims the police were also waiting for Rodger and had ample opportunity to notify the customer of police activity which would have prevented him from having to witness the fatal shooting. That means they also had ample opportunity to arrest Rodger before he entered his gun shop. That's one of the most obvious concerns. 

Now let's talk about believability and probability. The internal investigation was based solely on the police account because Rodger was dead and his side was not presented. Despite the fact that we were previously told the police officer who shot Rodger refused to participate in the internal investigation. The Special Investigations Unit also said "the subject officer also declined to release his notes, as is his legal right." That indeed reflects a broken system.

The police account which the internal investigation parroted is flawed. It claims two things that don't make sense. First it claims when the police barged in with guns drawn Rodger reached for a gun. That is not believable. He had a gun in his hand when the police barged in. It was jammed and he was servicing it. This was a renowned gunsmith who knows the rules and obeys the rules. He worked with his local police force. 

If the police came in with guns drawn he would have set the nonoperational firearm in his hands down and raised his hands in compliance. Any other claim fails the test of believability. Instead of claiming Rodger reached for a gun the officer who refused to participate in the investigation would have more accurately said the suspect had a gun in his hands. That part was true. It was jammed. It didn't work. He was fixing it when they barged in.

There is one other obvious anomaly. The Toronto police claim that a firearm Rodger sold ended up in the hands of criminals and a young boy was killed with that firearm. They also claim the serial number of the gun had been removed and they accused Rodger of removing it. That is a whole bunch of ridiculous.

A renowned gunsmith is not going to remove the serial number off a firearm. Criminals don't use registered firearms to commit crime because they can be traced. They use throways. Guns smuggled in from the US that were never registered. So the Toronto Police's defamatory claims against an upright citizen they executed don't make sense.

If there is a shred of truth in their allegation what is far more likely is that a police agent bought a gun from Rodger, removed the serial number and sold it to a criminal to set him up. That is the only thing that makes sense because as I said, criminals don't use registered guns to commit crime. 

As for the credibility of the Toronto Police, let's examine a Global News report that stated "Toronto’s police chief admits that a senior officer who admitted stealing drugs while on the job should have faced charges." The Toronto Police have a bad reputation for corruption. Why would we believe them now?

Update: Another reason why the claim Rodger reached for a gun is a lie is because we live in Canada not the US. Shop keepers don't keep a loaded firearm in the desk drawer. The laws in Canada clearly state that hand guns must be unloaded with a trigger lock on stored in a locked safe. 

A renowned gunsmith knows the rules and obeys the rules. The erogenous claim that Rodger reached for a gun is ridiculous. He reached for a gun with a trigger lock on it? The police had a gun on him and he thought he could unlock the pistol and load it before the cops were able to pull the trigger? Not a chance. That did not happen.