News Release
SIU Terminates Investigation in St. Thomas
Case Number: 18-OCI-153
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into the injury sustained by a 26-year-old man in St. Thomas in May of 2018.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on May 23, 2018, St. Thomas Police Service officers attended a residence on Balaclava Street in St. Thomas to arrest the man on outstanding warrants. The officers located him in the home and he was taken into custody. While at the police station the man complained of a sore eye and was transported to hospital where he was treated for an alleged fractured orbital bone. SIU investigators made several attempts to locate the man and finally met with him, in the presence of his lawyer, at the Provincial Court House in St. Thomas. During this meeting the man indicated that he did not wish the SIU to investigate his injury.
Director Loparco said, “Without the medical records, which we cannot obtain without his consent, there is no way to determine the extent of the injury or how it was sustained. As the man refused to participate in the SIU’s investigation, I have terminated the investigation into this incident.”
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations