News Release

SIU Investigates Injury in St. Catharines

Case Number: 10-OVI-272   

Mississauga (21 December, 2010) --- The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is probing the circumstances surrounding the injury received by a 26-year-old man in St. Catharines early Saturday morning.

The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) reported that at 3:00 a.m. Saturday December 18, 2010 officers attempted to stop a vehicle on Geneva Street.  The vehicle did not stop.  It fled the officers and travelled along Geneva Street to the Fairview Mall parking lot where it collided with an NRPS police car.  The vehicle fled the mall and proceeded to Evangelista Court where it eventually collided with two other NRPS police cars.   The driver was arrested and taken to St. Catharines General Hospital.  It was later determined that he had sustained a fracture.

The SIU has assigned two investigators and two forensic investigators to probe the circumstances of this incident.
 
The SIU is asking any member of the public who may have witnessed any or all of this incident to contact the lead investigator at 416 622 0748 extension 1965 or
1 800 787 8529.
 

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