News Release
SIU Discontinues Investigation into Injury of Man in Caledon
Case Number: 17-PCI-245
The Acting Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has discontinued an investigation into a serious injury sustained by a 31-year-old man last month in Caledon.
On September 6, 2017, the man was arrested by an Ontario Provincial Police officer with the Caledon detachment. The man was taken to the police station and subsequently released. He was re-arrested several hours later for breaching his release conditions. While at the detachment, the man complained his head hurt and he was subsequently taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain bleed.
Acting Director Martino explained, “The evidence collected in the course of the SIU’s initial inquiries established that the man’s injury was caused when he had an altercation with another civilian, prior to the man’s involvement with the police and his subsequent arrest. As such, this incident does not fall within the mandate of the SIU and therefore this investigation has been discontinued.”
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as 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