A 30-year-old Ottawa man shot dead by Toronto police late Friday had struggled with bipolar disorder for most of his life and thought of himself as a “lost boy.”
The man, whom family have identified as Devon LaFleur, was fatally shot at around 10 p.m. on Bayview Avenue between Steeles Avenue East and Cummer Avenue.
According to a report from the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), police “became involved with a man outside a residence” and several officers discharged their firearms.
The SIU, an independent agency that probes incidents involving police that leads to serious injury or death, has designated three subject officers and nine witness officers as part of this investigation, and assigned four investigators and three forensic investigators to the case.
On Friday, Ottawa Police released a statement saying LaFleur had been reported missing and was last seen in the Hazeldean Road area. Police warned people to not approach him, saying he might be armed. LaFleur’s family told police they were concerned for his safety.
Devon LaFleur, 30, was shot to death in a confrontation with Toronto police outside of a women’s shelter in North York Friday night. He was wanted for a gunpoint bank robbery that occurred in the Ottawa area earlier in the day. LaFleur is seen here in a recent photo posted on Facebook.
On Saturday morning, police issued a terse statement saying only that LaFleur had been “located,” but declined to provide further information about the circumstances. Multiple sources told Postmedia that the man shot by police was armed with a weapon and was suspected of robbing a bank in Kanata.
Ottawa Police would not comment about the report of a robbery.
Reached on Saturday, LaFleur’s aunt Janet Page Andersen said the family was still trying to get information about the chain of events that led to her nephew’s death.
The family believes Devon had headed to Toronto because he wanted to comfort a female friend who was staying in a women’s facility. His father, Malcolm, notified police when Devon went missing, along with his sister’s vehicle.
Andersen said Malcolm was in Toronto Saturday scouring the area where the shooting occurred in the hopes of learning more about the confrontation with police.
“My brother is devastated,” she said. “Police aren’t telling him anything.”
A tearful Andersen said her nephew had had a “lifetime of trouble.” Devon had struggled with bipolar since early adolescence, and did not like taking his medication because it left him feeling “dumbed down.”
But his family stood by him and loved him throughout all of his difficulties, she said.
Devon LaFleur is seen in a recent photo posted on Facebook.
Devon had visited the West Coast last year and hoped to move to Vancouver Island with his father, said Andersen. He posted photos of seals, seabirds and himself hugging a massive tree on his Facebook page, where he described himself as a “lost boy” and introduced himself as “studies lifelong insanity at Royal Ottawa Hospital.”
He also posted a joke photo of a straitjacket with the caption: “My family’s coat of arms ties in the back.” His mother, Rena, responded: “Yes, we believe in being creative. Good of you to share this, Duke of Devonshire.”
Andersen said her nephew loved nature and gardening. “He’s a sensitive, joyful person who loved nature and trusted people. Devon was loved by many, many people.”
But Devon LaFleur also had a dark side. In 2007 at the age of 21, he was arrested by tactical officers on Albion Road in Ottawa after a warrant had been issued for his arrest following a robbery at a TD Bank branch on Hazeldean Road.
In 2009, he was charged with robbery and possession of a weapon in connection with an armed robbery at a Bank Street video store. Armed with with a knife, he had demanded money from the clerk, then fled with the cash.
Andersen acknowledged that “everything was stacking up against him.” But she said when Devon went missing, Malcolm told police that his son had an air gun, not a real firearm.
“He has had a hard time of it. But he had an air gun,” Andersen insisted. “He was not a dangerous man.”
Devon LaFleur is seen in a recent photo posted on Facebook.
