News Release
SIU Concludes Shelburne Investigation
Case Number: 07-PCI-034
Other News Releases Related to Case 07-PCI-034
Four SIU investigators were assigned to examine the nature and extent of police involvement in the circumstances surrounding this man's injuries. The investigation revealed that on February 14, 2007, at approximately 2:55 p.m., Shelburne Police Service (SPS) officers responded to a call about a man who had broken into his estranged wife's home on Andrews Street in Shelbourne. SPS officers arrived and found the man barricaded in the loft of the garage. An officer entered the garage and attempted to talk to the man; the man was incoherent at times and refused the officer's repeated requests to come down from the loft.
At approximately 3:24 p.m., the SPS contacted the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) because there was an indication the man's irrational behaviour was escalating. An OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit (TRU) officer tried, unsuccessfully, to convince the man to come down from the loft. A while later, TRU officers used an extendable mirror and a listening device and saw that the man was still and quiet. At approximately 12:00 a.m., TRU officers entered the loft and found the man unconscious. He was removed from the garage and taken to hospital where he was treated for chemical poisoning.
Having reviewed all of the available evidence, the Director concluded that the police clearly played no role in this man's injuries.
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