News Release
SIU Discontinues Owen Sound Investigation; Fractured Heel a Result of Man Jumping From Apartment Window
Case Number: 25-OCI-099
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the serious injury suffered by a 30-year-old man in March in Owen Sound.
In the early morning of March 13, 2025, Owen Sound Police Service officers were dispatched to an apartment building in the area of 2nd Avenue East and 6th Street East to investigate a domestic dispute. The officers were met at the apartment unit door by a woman who acknowledged that a man was inside the apartment. The woman re-entered the apartment only to return a short time later, informing officers that the man escaped through a bedroom window. Officers entered the apartment and discovered an open bedroom window with a concrete walkway below. Officers searched the area but were unable to locate the man. The man later went to hospital for treatment of a heel fracture.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, Director Martino was satisfied the investigation should be discontinued at this time. On this record, it was plain and obvious that the police did nothing that could conceivably attract criminal liability in connection with the man’s injury. Suspecting police presence, the man attempted to evade arrest by jumping from a bedroom window onto the sidewalk below. He had no communication or interaction with police prior to jumping. The impact with the ground resulted in a fracture to his left heel. Accordingly, there being patently nothing to investigate as far as the potential criminal liability of any police officer was concerned, the file has been closed.
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
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Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES