News Release
No Charges Against London Officer in Relation to Collision Between Motorcycle and Car
Case Number: 22-OVI-066
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a London Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with a collision that seriously injured a 22-year-old man in March.
On March 6, 2022, the officer was in his marked police SUV travelling westbound on Oxford Street East when his attention was drawn to a couple of motorcycles, one of which matched the description of a motorcycle that had earlier in the day fled from the police. When the light turned green, the motorcycles went in different directions, and the officer proceeded to follow one of them. A short time later, the officer turned on the cruiser’s emergency lights and motioned the motorcyclist to pull over. The motorcyclist momentarily came to a stop, but then accelerated away. The officer followed, scanning the side streets to try to re-locate the motorcycle. At the intersection of St. George Street and Regent Street, the officer saw the motorcycle lying on the roadway. It had been involved in a collision with another vehicle. The motorcyclist suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured orbital bone.
Director Martino determined the officer did not transgress the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law in the events that preceded the collision. As there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case, the file has been 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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES