News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Niagara Officers After Man Injured During Arrest
Case Number: 21-OCI-406
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that two Niagara Regional Police Service officers committed a criminal offence in connection with a broken jaw suffered by a 56-year-old man in the course of his arrest last November.
On November 29, 2021, officers attempted to arrest the man for making threats. The man ran away from officers onto the Highway 420 on-ramp near Victoria Avenue as officers commanded him to stop. Both officers discharged their conducted energy weapons at the man multiple times while the man brandished a metal cane in the officers’ direction. The man continued to resist arrest and was punched by an officer. He was then handcuffed and taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured right jaw.
Director Martino accepted that the man’s serious injury resulted from the physical altercation; however, there was insufficient evidence to reasonably conclude that the force used by the officers involved was unlawful. The file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):
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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES