News Release
No Charges Against Brantford Officer After Woman’s Jump from Balcony
Case Number: 22-OCI-064
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Brantford Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with serious injuries suffered by a 23-year-old woman after she jumped from a balcony in March.
On March 4, 2022, officers responded to an apartment in Brantford after receiving a 911 call with concerns about the woman’s wellbeing. Officers knocked on her door and called out when she jumped. The woman was transported to hospital in an ambulance. She was diagnosed with multiple fractures and other internal injuries.
Director Martino found no reasonable grounds to believe that the subject official transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law, leaving no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. 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.
Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES