News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Man’s Injuries Suffered after Being Struck by Locomotive in Kitchener
Case Number: 24-OCI-556
In the afternoon of December 26, 2024, Waterloo Regional Police Service officers were at the train station at 126 Weber Street West, Kitchener, dealing with a situation when they were alerted to the presence of a man on the railway overpass nearby. Concerned that the man was intending to harm himself, one of the officers left the station to block traffic underneath the bridge as the other officer walked towards the man. When the man saw the officer approach him, the man jumped down onto the overpass and ran westward. He had just cleared a metal girder dividing the north and south side train tracks over the bridge when he threw himself onto the south side tracks and into the path of an eastbound train engine. The man was transported to hospital and treated for multiple injuries. On his assessment of the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s injuries.
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 (municipal, regional and provincial police officers, police officers with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, 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