News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation After Woman Jumped from Roof in Peterborough
Case Number: 24-OCI-177
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, found no reasonable grounds to believe Peterborough Police Service officers committed a criminal offence in connection with the serious injury of a 30-year-old woman. As the officers were negotiating with the woman at the time, the SIU was notified and investigated.
On April 22, 2024, officers went to the woman’s apartment in the area of Barnardo Avenue to arrest her for assault and probation violations. The woman climbed out of her second-floor bedroom window and on to the roof. She then climbed onto a tree beside the roof and jumped down to the ground, breaking her right big toe in the process.
Director Martino noted appropriate resources were called to the scene and reasonable efforts were made to safely coax the woman off the roof. Though these efforts were regrettably to no avail, the woman jumping from the roof was not for want of reasonable efforts brought to bear by the police, he concluded.
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 (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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES