Officers involved in a shootout with a gunman who killed three people, including a Toronto police officer, have been cleared of wrongdoing by Ontario’s police watchdog.

The Special Investigations Unit says the officers’ use of force in an exchange of gunfire with the 40-year-old suspect in a Hamilton cemetery was justified given the circumstances.

The SIU report lays out in detail what happened on Sept. 12, when investigators say the suspect — who has since been identified as Sean Petrie — shot and killed a Toronto police officer at a Mississauga, Ont., Tim Hortons.

The report says he then carjacked a Jeep and drove to an auto repair workshop where he used to work, and killed the owner and an employee.

The SIU says the suspect was armed with a pistol, carrying a plastic bag with extra ammunition and wearing a ballistic vest capable of stopping bullets used in some police weapons when he was eventually tracked down by police in a Hamilton cemetery that afternoon.

The report says the suspect approached a police officer and started firing in her direction, then four officers fired their weapons and shot the suspect, who appeared to be trying to reload his pistol.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2022.