News Release
No Charges to Issue in Relation to Leamington Arrest
Case Number: 20-PCI-066
On the morning of March 26, 2020, Ontario Provincial Police officers were dispatched to the premises of a medical cannabis growing operation in Leamington. They had been sent following calls reporting that someone had been caught breaking and entering into the business. The officers arrived to find a person of interest – a 42-year-old man – in rough shape, and surrounded by workers and security personnel. In the course of the man’s arrest, he was punched and kneed a number of times by officers before he was handcuffed. He was subsequently transported to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured right arm. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined that whether the officers injured the man in their encounter, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case and the file is closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.
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