Criticism over OPPs lack of communication during nine-hour closure of Hwy 401 [Video]

Many people are wondering why Ontario Provincial Police failed to properly notify drivers of an investigation that shut down a stretch of Highway 401 for almost nine hours on Friday night.

Traffic was brought to a standstill in the eastbound lanes between Cedar Creek Road and Homer Watson Boulevard, with drivers complaining that they had little to no information from authorities.

SIU investigation

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) confirmed the closure stemmed from an OPP-involved shooting.

Around 4:30 p.m., officers received a report of someone jumping out of a moving vehicle on Oxford Road 6 and then being placed back inside.

OPP said they caught up with the vehicle near Kitchener.

“At approximately 5:20 p.m., Oxford [County] OPP officers stopped the driver of a vehicle eastbound on Highway 401, in the area of Homer Watson Boulevard, in relation to an investigation,” an SIU spokesperson told CTV News in an email.

During that interaction, an officer fired their gun.

The SIU …