The province’s Special Investigations Unit has cleared a Toronto police officer of any wrongdoing in the shooting of a 17-year-old boy last March.An investigation determined that on March 23, members of the Guns and Gangs Task Force were tracking a vehicle, believing that the driver had illegal firearms.The driver turned into a plaza in the Islington Avenue and Satterly Road area just after 3 p.m. and went into a store. When he returned to the vehicle, he was surrounded by police officers who attempted to execute a takedown.The police watchdog says one of the four men in the vehicle attempted to escape through one of the rear doors but was stopped by one of the officers. The driver then attempted to escape through the same door but was shot once in the right leg by an officer.The SIU says the occupants of the vehicle were arrested and “multiple firearms” were recovered, including a semi-automatic pistol on the driver who was shot.SIU director Joseph Martino says while there is evidence the driver was not reaching for a gun when he was shot, there is also evidence to support claims that his hands were in the area of his waistband at the time of the shooting.“On this record, I am unable to reasonably conclude that the [subject officer] did not harbour an honest belief that it was necessary to shoot the Complainant to protect himself and others from a reasonably apprehended attack,” wrote Martino.“At that moment, faced with the very real risk that the Complainant would use his gun against the officers, nothing short of a firearm had the immediate stopping power required to preserve the SO and others from grievous bodily harm or death.”Martino concluded there are no reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence was committed in connection with the shooting.