News Release
SIU Terminates Investigation into Norfolk County Collision
Case Number: 19-PVI-028
The Interim Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated the investigation into a collision that occurred in February of 2019 in Norfolk County.
On February 6, 2019, police officers pulled over a vehicle in the area of Highway 24 and Queensway in Norfolk County. The vehicle fled from police, traveling north toward Old Highway 24. When the driver attempted to exit using the eastbound off-ramp, he lost control of the vehicle causing the vehicle to leave the roadway and roll over before coming to rest. A passenger in the vehicle – a 30-year-old man - was recovered from the vehicle and taken to hospital for treatment. The driver initially fled the scene but was soon located and arrested by police.
Interim Director Martino said, “In my view, the police conduct was sufficiently divorced from the collision such as to negate the possibility of any criminality on the part of the involved officers. The police were nowhere near the vehicle as it travelled north along Highway 24 and then crashed. In the circumstances, as there are patently no issues to further any possible criminal investigation of the police, this investigation is hereby discontinued and the file closed.”
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