News Release
Man’s Injury a Result of Jumping out of Window; SIU Terminates Collingwood Investigation
Case Number: 19-PCI-022
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into an incident involving the Ontario Provincial Police that occurred in Collingwood in January of 2019.
At approximately 2 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, members of the OPP Provincial Rope Team attended a residence in Collingwood to arrest a 36-year-old man on an outstanding warrant. The police knocked at the door and verbally identified themselves. In order to evade the police, the man jumped out of a second floor window. When he landed on the ground, he felt a sharp pain in his left ankle. The man was arrested and taken to hospital where he was diagnosed as having sustained a fractured left ankle.
Director Loparco said, “The man caused his own injury when he jumped out of the second storey window, and the injury had nothing to do with any act or omission on the part of the police. As such, I have terminated the investigation into this incident.”
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