News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Dog Bite Injury Suffered by Man in London
Case Number: 25-OCI-156
In the early morning of April 21, 2025, a London Police Service officer operating a cruiser attempted to pull a vehicle over for a speeding infraction. When the 17-year-old driver became aware of the cruiser, he stopped the vehicle, exited, and fled into the backyard of a residence. The officer broadcast what had occurred, and other officers arrived to assist, including an officer who was with his police service dog. The dog located the teenager hiding behind a bush by the fence line. The teenager screamed out in pain as the dog bit behind his right knee. He was transported to hospital and surgically treated for a serious dog bite. 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 arrest and injury.
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.
Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES