News Release

Man Injured Hand When he Jumped from Bridge to Pathway; SIU Terminates Ottawa Investigation

Case Number: 20-OCI-058   

Mississauga, ON (9 April, 2020) ---
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the serious injury sustained by a 31-year-old man last month in Ottawa.

In the evening of March 14, 2020, Ottawa Police Service officers pulled over a vehicle on Wellington Street. The driver of the vehicle exited and attempted to run away. When he jumped from the Portage Bridge to a pathway, the man hurt his wrist. He was subsequently taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured left wrist.

Director Martino said, “Based on the SIU preliminary inquiries to date, it is evident that there is patently nothing to investigate as far as the potential criminal liability of any officer is concerned in connection with the man’s injury. The man ran from police after his vehicle was pulled over on Wellington Street and injured his hand in the process of landing onto a pathway from the Portage Bridge. In the circumstances, the investigation is hereby discontinued, and the file is closed.”

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

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