News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into North Bay Man's Injuries
Case Number: 07-PCI-151
The SIU investigation has determined that on July 29, 2007, two officers from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were working at a community festival in Mattawa. They were told by a festival-goer that there was a man hiding in some nearby bushes. They went to investigate and when they found the man they asked him what he was doing. The man immediately ran from them and dove off a dock into the shallow waters of the Ottawa River. When the officers got to the dock they saw the man floating face down in the river. One of the officers jumped in and immediately provided assistance to the man while the other officer called for an ambulance. The man was eventually removed from the river by ambulance personnel and taken to hospital for treatment.
Director Cornish concluded, "In my view there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence." The Director further commented that there was no physical contact between the man and the two officers prior to him diving into the river. He added, "The evidence reveals that the officer's actions after the man dove into the water likely saved his life."
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