Director's Report Details

The Special Investigations Unit is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an official where there has been death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019 (SIU Act), officials are defined as police officers, special constables of the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers under the Legislative Assembly Act. The SIU’s jurisdiction covers more than 50 municipal, regional and provincial police services across Ontario.

Under the SIU Act, the Director of the SIU must determine based on the evidence gathered in an investigation whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence was committed. If such grounds exist, the Director has the authority to lay a criminal charge against the official. Alternatively, in cases where no reasonable grounds exist, the Director cannot lay charges. Where no charges are laid, a report of the investigation is prepared and released publicly, except in the case of reports dealing with allegations of sexual assault, in which case the SIU Director may consult with the affected person and exercise a discretion to not publicly release the report having regard to the affected person’s privacy interests.

Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019

Pursuant to section 34, certain information may not be included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• The name of, and any information identifying, a subject official, witness official, civilian witness or affected person.
• Information that may result in the identity of a person who reported that they were sexually assaulted being revealed in connection with the sexual assault.
• Information that, in the opinion of the SIU Director, could lead to a risk of serious harm to a person.
• Information that discloses investigative techniques or procedures.
• Information, the release of which is prohibited or restricted by law.
• Information in which a person’s privacy interest in not having the information published clearly outweighs the public interest in having the information published.

Freedom of Information and Protection of Personal Privacy Act

Pursuant to section 14 (i.e., law enforcement), certain information may not be included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Confidential investigative techniques and procedures used by law enforcement agencies; and
• Information that could reasonably be expected to interfere with a law enforcement matter or an investigation undertaken with a view to a law enforcement proceeding.

Pursuant to section 21 (i.e., personal privacy), protected personal information is not included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• The names of persons, including civilian witnesses, and subject and witness officials;
• Location information;
• Witness statements and evidence gathered in the course of the investigation provided to the SIU in confidence; and
• Other identifiers which are likely to reveal personal information about individuals involved in the investigation.

Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004

Pursuant to this legislation, any information related to the personal health of identifiable individuals is not included.

Other proceedings, processes, and investigations

Information may also have been excluded from this report because its release could undermine the integrity of other proceedings involving the same incident, such as criminal proceedings, coroner’s inquests, other public proceedings and/or other law enforcement investigations.

Pursuant to section 15 of the SIU Act, the SIU may investigate the conduct of officials, be they police officers, special constables of the Niagara Parks Commission or peace officers under the Legislative Assembly Act, that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

A person sustains a “serious injury” for purposes of the SIU’s jurisdiction if they: sustain an injury as a result of which they are admitted to hospital; suffer a fracture to the skull, or to a limb, rib or vertebra; suffer burns to a significant proportion of their body; lose any portion of their body; or, as a result of an injury, experience a loss of vision or hearing.

In addition, a “serious injury” means any other injury sustained by a person that is likely to interfere with the person’s health or comfort and is not transient or trifling in nature.

This report relates to the SIU’s investigation into the serious injury of a 60-year-old man (the “Complainant”).

Notification of the SIU[1]

On January 1, 2025, at 12:03 a.m., the OPP contacted the SIU with the following information.

On December 31, 2024, at 8:06 p.m., the OPP received a 911 call from a Civilian Witness (CW), reporting that the Complainant had threatened her with a knife while inside their home in the area of Colborne Street and West Street South, Orillia. Witness Official (WO) #1 and the Subject Official (SO) arrived on scene and confronted the Complainant out front of the home. The Complainant was directed to drop the knife and surrender. The Complainant started to comply but became non-compliant, and a struggle ensued. The Complainant was taken to the ground and handcuffed with the assistance of WO #3. The Complainant was transported to the Orillia Detachment where, during the intake process, he complained to WO #4 of pain to his right knee. The Complainant was subsequently taken to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) and diagnosed with a fracture of his right knee cap. He was discharged around 11:00 p.m. and returned to the Orillia Detachment.

The Team

Date and time team dispatched: 2025/01/02 at 8:13 a.m.

Date and time SIU arrived on scene: 2025/01/02 at 8:50 a.m.

Number of SIU Investigators assigned: 3

Number of SIU Forensic Investigators assigned: 0

Affected Person (aka “Complainant”):

60-year-old male; interviewed; medical records obtained and reviewed

The Complainant was interviewed on January 6, 2025.

Civilian Witness

CW Interviewed

The civilian witness was interviewed on January 6, 2025.

Subject Official

SO Declined interview and to provide notes, as is the subject official’s legal right

Witness Officials

WO #1 Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

WO #2 Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

WO #3 Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

WO #4 Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

The witness officials were interviewed on January 15, 2025.

The Scene

The events in question transpired in and around a residence situated in the area of Colborne Street and West Street South, Orillia.

Video/Audio/Photographic Evidence[2]

OPP Communications Recordings – 911

On December 31, 2024, at 8:06 p.m., the CW called 911, requesting police assistance at a residence. She reported that the Complainant had come at her with a knife. At the time of the call, the CW was hiding in the bathroom shower while the Complainant, who had consumed alcohol, marijuana, and hashish, was at the door trying to get in. He could be heard yelling in the background. Eventually, the CW exited the bathroom, and waited for police in the living room while the Complainant remained upstairs. Officers arrived shortly after and were heard calling out for the Complainant before the recording ended at 8:11 p.m.

OPP Communications Recordings – Radio

On December 31, 2024, at 8:07 p.m., police were dispatched to a residence in the area of Colborne Street and West Street South for a weapons call. The CW reported that the Complainant, who had been drinking, came at her with a knife. She hid in the bathroom but was able to leave the apartment safely and was unharmed.

At 8:12 p.m., police arrived, and the Complainant was taken into custody.

The Complainant was initially transported to the detachment but subsequently transported to OSMH, complaining of leg pain.

At 11:57 p.m., the Complainant was discharged from the hospital and transported back to the OPP detachment.

OPP Custody Video

On January 31, 2025, a cruiser was parked in the OPP detachment sally port. The SO exited the driver’s side and opened the rear left door, where the Complainant was assisted out by WO #1. He appeared to favour his left leg, hopping slightly while applying minimal pressure to his right leg. Handcuffed behind his back, he was escorted by the officers to the booking area, where he was seated on a bench. His handcuffs and coat were removed.

With support from officers, the Complainant stood while he was searched. He then sat down, removed his outer pants, and revealed his right knee to the officers. He was escorted to a phone room in a wheeled office chair. After two minutes, officers pushed the chair back into the booking area and then into a cell, where the Complainant transferred himself onto the cell bed. Shortly after, paramedics arrived with a stretcher, assisted the Complainant onto it, and transported him through a garage door to an ambulance.

Later, the Complainant returned in a SUV. He was escorted to a cell by a special constable. When released, he was provided crutches and hopped cautiously as two special constables led him out. He was then placed in a white OPP transport vehicle, secured in the compartment, and taken from the facility.

Materials Obtained from Police Service

Upon request, the SIU obtained the following records from the OPP on January 9, 2025:

• General Occurrence, Arrest & Booking Reports
• Computer-aided Dispatch Report
• Communications recordings
• Custody video
• Notes – WO #1, WO #3, WO #2, and WO #4

Materials Obtained from Other Sources

The SIU obtained the Complainant’s medical records from OSMH on January 27, 2025.

The evidence collected by the SIU, including interviews with the Complainant and police and non-police witnesses, gives rise to the following scenario. As was his legal right, the SO did not agree an interview with the SIU or the release of his notes.

In the evening of December 31, 2024, OPP officers were dispatched to a house in the area of Colborne Street and West Street South, Orillia, following a 911 call from one of the home’s residents. The CW had contacted police to report that another resident of the home – the Complainant – had threatened her with a knife.

The SO, and WO #1 and WO #3, arrived on scene within minutes and were allowed into the home by the CW. They encountered an intoxicated Complainant descending a flight of stairs from the second-floor. The SO and WO #1 took hold of the Complainant and forced him to the floor. There followed a brief struggle before the officers were able to handcuff the Complainant to the back.

Following his arrest and a brief stay at the Orillia Detachment, the Complainant was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a fractured right tibial plateau.

Section 25(1), Criminal Code - Protection of Persons Acting Under Authority

25 (1) Every one who is required or authorized by law to do anything in the administration or enforcement of the law

(a) as a private person,

(b) as a peace officer or public officer,

(c) in aid of a peace officer or public officer, or

(d) by virtue of his office,

is, if he acts on reasonable grounds, justified in doing what he is required or authorized to do and in using as much force as is necessary for that purpose.

The Complainant was seriously injured in the course of his arrest by OPP officers in Orillia on December 31, 2024. The SIU was notified of the incident and initiated an investigation, naming the SO the subject official. The investigation is now concluded. On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the SO committed a criminal offence in connection with the Complainant’s arrest and injury.

Pursuant to section 25(1) of the Criminal Code, police officers are immune from criminal liability for force used in the course of their duties provided such force was reasonably necessary in the execution of an act that they were required or authorized to do by law.

Based on the information they had at their disposal from the CW, I am satisfied that the officers were within their rights in seeking to arrest the Complainant for an assault with a weapon.

I am also satisfied that there is insufficient evidence to reasonably conclude the force used by the officers, including the SO, was unjustified. There is a version of events proffered in the evidence in which the Complainant was grounded, despite having raised his hands when directed by the officers, and had his legs stomped on the floor by an officer, even as he offered no resistance to his arrest. This evidence, which might otherwise suggest unnecessary and illegal force, must be approached cautiously due to frailties that call into question the reliability of the account. It is also at odds with the evidence proffered by WO #1 and WO #3, who say that the Complainant was forcibly taken down when he refused to show his hands, and then wrestled into submission when he struggled against the officers’ efforts to bring his arms behind the back. This account, in which no strikes were brought to bear, seems a reasonable use of force given the need to quickly control a subject suspected of an assault and possibly armed with a knife. On this record, there being no reason to believe that the account of undue force is any likelier to be closer to the truth than the version of events provided by the officers, and some reason to doubt it, the evidence does not give rise to reasonable and probable grounds to believe any of the officers committed a criminal offence.

In the result, while I accept that the Complainant’s injury was incurred in the altercation that marked his arrest, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed.

Date: April 30, 2025

Electronically approved by

Joseph Martino

Director

Special Investigations Unit