Probe continues into police shooting
Questions surround death of former Park Woods resident Corey Aaron Armstrong during Lindsay raid
The special investigations unit is looking into a police raid in Lindsay that ended with the death of a 21-year-old man who grew up in the Park Woods area.
Corey Aaron Armstrong died on June 22 after officers from the Peterborough-Lakefield and Kawartha Lakes police services executed a drug warrant on a home. A member of the Peterborough-Lakefield police, Constable Keith Calderwood, 37, was wounded during the raid.
A funeral was held for Armstrong in Scarborough, near Morningside Avenue and Lawrence Avenue where Armstrong was living. His early years were spent near Victoria Park Avenue and Ellesmere Road.
Armstrong attended Annunciation Catholic School until grade 8. He then went on to nearby Senator O’Connor Catholic Secondary School, but later dropped out. Friends who knew Armstrong from his youth described him as a welcoming spirit with a positive outlook on life.
“He would use any means necessary to put smiles on the faces of anyone who needed to be uplifted,” said childhood friend, Jourdan Harewood.
“The gravity of his devotion to his friends was one that I will always admire.”
At the closed-casket wake, mourners shared stories about their friend as police sat in a patrol car outside. Many said they were shocked when they found out he had died.
“When I heard about what had happened to him I was devastated to say the least,” Harewood said. “I’ve lost friends before, but none hit as close to home as this.”
Two investigations have been launched looking into the circumstances surrounding Armstrong’s death and Calderwood’s injury. It may be several weeks until the report is released.
According to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit at least one of the bullets which struck and injured Calderwood came from the gun of a fellow officer. It also stated that four of the five people arrested during the raid were released without charges while a Bowmanville woman was charged with breach of recognizance.
Four Peterborough-Lakefield police officers have been named as subject officers in Armstrong’s death and that another eight from both police services were designated witness officers.
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