News Release
SIU Completes Investigation into Kingston Officers After Man Injured in Arrest
Case Number: 23-OCI-025
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe three Kingston Police officers committed a criminal offence in connection with the serious injury of a 22-year-old man. On January 22, 2023, officers arrested the man for impaired driving in the area of Division Street and Johnston Street in Kingston. The man resisted, officers struck the man multiple times and an officer fired his Conducted Energy Weapon. A loaded handgun was found in the man’s waistband. The man was diagnosed with a fractured jaw.
While Director Martino accepted that the man’s injury was incurred in the altercation that marked his arrest, there were no reasonable grounds to believe that it was attributable to unlawful conduct on the part of the subject officials.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):
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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES