Ontario’s police watchdog has exonerated an officer in the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man in Wapekeka First Nation. The man, identified as Tyresse Kenny Padro Cree Roundsky, died on July 31, 2025, after being shot in the chest by the officer. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) stated that Roundsky approached the officer with a knife in a makeshift courtroom within the community’s youth center. Three shots were fired by the officer during the incident.
The SIU, an independent government agency that investigates police conduct resulting in death, serious injury, or firearm discharge, released a report stating that no criminal charges would be pursued in this case. However, the agency highlighted a delay of 40 minutes before officers approached Roundsky’s body to provide first aid after the shooting.
Wapekeka First Nation, situated around 450 kilometers northeast of Sioux Lookout in northwestern Ontario, is a remote Oji-Cree community with nearly 500 residents. Notably, three men connected to Wapekeka First Nation were fatally shot by police in northwestern Ontario within a short timeframe. These individuals include Eric Nothing, who was shot and killed by a Nishnawbe Aski Police Service officer in Deer Lake First Nation on July 22, 2025, and Bruce Wallace Frogg, Eric Nothing’s father, who was fatally shot by a Kenora OPP officer at Anicinabe Park on June 25, 2024.
The SIU cleared the police officers involved in all three cases of any misconduct. The SIU’s investigation into Roundsky’s case involved three investigators and two forensic investigators interviewing 18 civilian witnesses and one service employee witness during a three-week period. The officer involved in the shooting declined to be interviewed or provide notes for the report.
Despite delays in obtaining an audio recording from the courtroom where the incident occurred, the SIU concluded that the officer fired in self-defense to repel an anticipated attack from Roundsky, who was advancing towards him with a knife. The officer’s actions were deemed lawful based on the circumstances. Mental health counseling and crisis support services are available 24/7 through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or online at www.hopeforwellness.ca.