News Release
Officers Acted Lawfully in St Catharines Arrest; No Charges to Issue
Case Number: 19-OCI-072
On April 8, 2019, a Niagara Regional Police Service officer approached a man who was smoking an illegal substance in the area of King Street and James Street in St. Catharines. After checking his computer and seeing that there were two outstanding warrants in effect for the man’s arrest, the officer informed the man he was under arrest. With the assistance of several officers, the man was arrested. The Interim Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against any officer in relation to the fractured nose sustained by the man.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.
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