News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Peel Officer After Man Seriously Injured During Arrest in Mississauga
Case Number: 22-OCI-051
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Peel Regional Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with fractured ribs suffered by a 51-year-old man during his arrest in February.
On February 15, 2022, officers attempted to arrest the man for a number of arrest warrants on Erin Mills Parkway in Mississauga. The man resisted and the subject official discharged a Conducted Energy Weapon. The man continued to struggle and another officer took the man down to the ground. The subject official delivered two knee strikes. The man was subdued and handcuffed. The man was later diagnosed with five broken ribs.
Director Martino accepted that the man’s fractures were caused by the subject official’s knee strikes; however, he found no reasonable grounds to believe that either officer comported himself other than lawfully in the altercation that marked the arrest. Consequently, there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case.
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 (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