News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Man’s Overdose in Cornwall Police Custody
Case Number: 23-OCI-072
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe two Cornwall Police Service officers committed a criminal offence in connection with an overdose suffered by a 32-year-old man. On March 4, 2023, the man was arrested for breaching the terms of his release and had also committed mischief at a restaurant. The man snuck drugs into his cell and consumed it. He lapsed into medical distress and was taken to hospital for treatment of a prescription drug overdose. Director Martino noted the man was subjected to two searches prior to being put in the cells, but the man had secreted the drugs in his anus so those searches would not have been able to detect the drugs.
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