Toronto police officer pleads guilty to criminal charges after shooting man in 2023
Written by The Canadian Press on August 28, 2025
TORONTO — A Toronto police officer has pleaded guilty to criminal charges after he shot and seriously injured a Black man in 2023, the victim’s lawyer says, as court documents show the man was backing away from police at the time of the incident.
David Shellnutt says his client, Devon Fowlin, was in a park the morning of Feb. 27, 2023 and was not a threat to police when officers shot him with tasers and a firearm after Fowlin put a knife to his own neck.
An agreed statement of facts says Fowlin was backing away from police officers while he held the knife and at one point one officer yelled, “Oh my god shoot him,” before Const. Andrew Davis fired two shots at Fowlin, leaving him with multiple injuries.
The Special Investigations Unit, which acts as Ontario’s police watchdog, later charged Davis with one count of aggravated assault and one count of discharging a firearm with intent to maim, wound, disfigure or endanger life.
Shellnutt says Davis pleaded guilty to lesser charges of assault and careless use of a firearm on Wednesday.
Fowlin says in a statement that he believes the guilty plea means there’s “justice for everyone involved” and called it an opportunity to improve things for others.
Toronto police and the SIU declined to comment on the case.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2025.
The Canadian Press