Director's Report Details

• The name of, and any information identifying, a subject official, witness official, civilian witness or affected person. 
• Information that may result in the identity of a person who reported that they were sexually assaulted being revealed in connection with the sexual assault. 
• Information that, in the opinion of the SIU Director, could lead to a risk of serious harm to a person. 
• Information that discloses investigative techniques or procedures.  
• Information, the release of which is prohibited or restricted by law.  
• Information in which a person’s privacy interest in not having the information published clearly outweighs the public interest in having the information published. 

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Pursuant to section14 (i.e., law enforcement), certain information may not be included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following: 

• Confidential investigative techniques and procedures used by law enforcement agencies; and 
• Information that could reasonably be expected to interfere with a law enforcement matter or an investigation undertaken with a view to a law enforcement proceeding. 

Pursuant to section 21 (i.e., personal privacy), protected personal information is not included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following: 

• The names of persons, including civilian witnesses, and subject and witness officials; 
• Location information; 
• Witness statements and evidence gathered in the course of the investigation provided to the SIU in confidence; and 
• Other identifiers which are likely to reveal personal information about individuals involved in the investigation. 

Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004

Pursuant to this legislation, any information related to the personal health of identifiable individuals is not included.

Other proceedings, processes, and investigations

Information may also have been excluded from this report because its release could undermine the integrity of other proceedings involving the same incident, such as criminal proceedings, coroner’s inquests, other public proceedings and/or other law enforcement investigations.

On August 5, 2022, at 7:30 p.m., the Complainant was arrested for impaired driving in the Caledon area. She was taken to the Caledon Detachment and given two breath tests. The tests showed she was way over the legal limit. The OPP decided to put the Complainant in a taxi and released her from custody. On August 6, 2022, at 2:43 a.m., the Complainant collapsed in a bar in Brampton. She was taken to the Brampton Civic Hospital (BCH) where she was intubated and in cardiac arrest.

OPP Caledon Detachment - Breath Testing Room – Video

The following is a summary of the pertinent footage obtained by the SIU.

WO #2 enters the room and prepares the breathalyzer, then leaves the room. He re-enters the room followed by the Complainant. WO #2 goes to the counter, and the Complainant sits down in a seat. WO #2 tells the Complainant the time is 8:41 p.m. and identifies himself. He tells the Complainant he is there to conduct a test and points out the cameras in the room. The Complainant asks for a cup of water, and he says he wants to go through a couple of things first. He speaks to the Complainant to verify that she has had the opportunity to speak to a lawyer or duty counsel, and to confirm that she does not want to speak to them. The Complainant provides the confirmation.

WO #2 reads a demand for a breath sample to the Complainant, who is sitting with her arms crossed. She says she understands. He reads a caution to the Complainant and a secondary caution. The Complainant fixes her hair while listening and verbally says she understands both cautions. She tells WO #2 she is there to provide a breath sample; her speech is slow and slightly slurred. He asks her to go with him to find a cup to use for water as he does not want to leave her alone. She leaves the room and returns with WO #2 who has a cup, which he fills with water from the sink and provides to her. The Complainant remains sitting interacting with WO #2.

WO #2 is captured getting the breathalyzer machine ready, and the Complainant talks to WO #2 about TikTok; they go back and forth. She tells WO #2 she was supposed to be going to her friend’s in Brampton and continues talking to him while waiting for the machine to be ready. He gives her a mouthpiece and shows her how to blow into it and then corrects her on what to do. The Complainant blows into the mouthpiece while WO #2 holds the hose and tells her to keep blowing. He tells her they have to wait 17 minutes before they can do the second test. The Complainant sits down, and WO #2 asks the Complainant several questions, noting the answers on his paperwork. She remains sitting on the bench with her legs crossed and answers all the questions asked by WO #2.

The Complainant says she was not operating a motor vehicle and she just wanted to go home. She then admits she was driving by herself going home. She tells WO #2 she left Wasaga Beach to go home at 9:45 a.m. He asks her if she knew what time it was, and she replies it is 9:00 p.m. She appears to understand all the questions asked by WO #2 and answers them while remaining on the bench. She tells WO #2 she did not think she should have been driving and had pulled over for about five minutes when a police officer [now known to be WO #1] came and spoke to her.

The Complainant tells WO #2 she is going to commit suicide. WO #2 asks the Complainant when and how she plans to hurt herself, and tells her they can take her to a hospital. She says she is not going to commit suicide, even though she wants to do it, as it is against her religion. He asks her if she wants to go to the hospital and see a doctor when they are done. The Complainant replies, “No,” as it is forbidden. WO #2 tells the Complainant he has to make sure she is okay, not just now but also when she leaves. The Complainant tells WO #2 that she is absolutely not intoxicated and fine.

The Complainant stands up and has a second cup of water, then sits waiting for the machine to be ready. WO #2 gets the breath machine hose and again gives a mouthpiece to the Complainant to blow into. The Complainant blows into the mouthpiece. WO #2 puts the mouthpiece onto the hose and the Complainant blows into it while he tells her to keep blowing.

WO #2 does the test again, telling the Complainant to keep blowing; she tries but is unsuccessful. WO #2 conducts the test a third time, telling the Complainant to “blow, blow, blow”. The Complainant asks if she can go and have a smoke, and sits down. WO #2 tells her she can when they are done. They leave the room so the Complainant can have a break. WO #2 returns to the room and prepares the breathalyzer machine, after which he leaves the room and returns with the Complainant, who is talking the entire time and sits down.

WO #2 tells her they are going to do the test and paperwork, and get her out. The Complainant remains seated on the bench talking to him while the breathalyzer machine is going through its process. WO #2 explains what she did wrong during the last test, gives her a mouthpiece and tells her to blow steady so all the air is coming from her mouth. She stands up and blows into the mouthpiece while WO #2 tells her to “blow, blow, blow”. The test is concluded. WO #2 tells the Complainant she is being charged with “impaired driving over 80 mgs”. The Complainant continues talking to WO #2. They leave the room together. WO #2 tells the Complainant he will work on the paperwork, and they will get her out.

OPP Caledon Detachment - Interview Room – Video

The following is a summary of the pertinent footage obtained by the SIU.

The door is opened, and the Complainant walks into the room followed by WO #2. The Complainant sits down on a chair by a table and WO #2 remains standing and talking to her. WO #1 enters the room carrying some papers and a purse. The Complainant is sitting moving her hands around, fixing her hair and speaking to WO #1 and WO #2. WO #1 puts the purse on the table. The Complainant empties the contents of her purse onto the table and goes through it to locate her identification, giving it to WO #1.

WO #2 leaves the room and WO #1 remains inside talking to the Complainant. The Complainant signs papers and remains sitting and talking to WO #1. She pulls out her phone from the property to look up numbers and gives them to WO #1. WO #1 writes the phone numbers down, returns the purse to the Complainant, and leaves the room with the Complainant.

911 Call to PRP

A female calls 911 for an ambulance to Viva Café, 10069 Hurontario Street, stating there is a female [now known to have been the Complainant] at the bar who passed out unconscious. The dispatcher asks if the Complainant is awake. The caller says she is in and out of consciousness. It is reported that she was already drunk from somewhere else, and that they had given her one beverage, after which she went outside and fell asleep. They noticed her lips went blue and she lost consciousness, so they put her down on the ground and put her on her side. The dispatcher asks if she was conscious or unconscious. The caller says she started to snore and is starting to spit now, but is not responding when they call her name. The dispatcher asks a number of questions regarding the Complainant’s condition, and the caller tells her the Complainant’s chest is not moving and she is not breathing. The dispatcher tells the caller to go and look at her chest to see if they need to start CPR. The caller says, “No,” and that they are starting CPR. The dispatcher provides instructions on how to perform CPR on the Complainant.

An ambulance indicates that they are just pulling up at Viva Café. Paramedics arrive on scene.

Video Footage from Viva Café

The video footage from Viva Café depicted the Complainant sitting at the bar and speaking with a woman. Subsequently, the video depicted the Complainant slumped over the bar counter and being attended to by an unknown person.

Materials Obtained from Police Service

Upon request, the SIU received the following materials from the OPP and the PRP between August 9, 2022, and September 20, 2022:

• OPP Breath Test Notes - WO #2;
• OPP Form 10 – the Complainant;
• OPP Arrest and Detention Policy;
• OPP Prisoner Control Manual;
• OPP Bail/Release Conditions;
• OPP Call Logs;
• OPP communications recordings;
• OPP custody video;
• OPP Interview Room Video;
• OPP Breath Test Room Video;
• OPP – Original Occurrence Report;
• OPP – Related Occurrence Reports;
• OPP – Notes – WO #1;
• OPP – Notes – WO #2;
• OPP – Notes – WO #3;
• OPP – Notes – WO #4;
• OPP – Intoxilyzer Records;
• 911 call to PRP;
• PRP Occurrence Report;
• PRP Incident History;
• PRP security video from the Viva Café;
• PRP Communications Audio Reports;
• PRP communications recordings;
• PRP transcripts of witness video interviews (x2); and
• PRP photographs from the Viva Café.

The Complainant had arrived at Viva Café sometime after midnight having the day before consumed a substantial amount of alcohol. In fact, she was coming from the OPP Caledon Detachment where she had just been released on charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Testing at the detachment had indicated her blood alcohol concentration was over 300 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. Officers at the detachment, having unsuccessfully attempted to contact family or friends of the Complainant to pick her up from the station, had arranged for a cab to take her home.

215 (1) Every one is under a legal duty

(2) Every person commits an offence who, being under a legal duty within the meaning of subsection (1), fails without lawful excuse to perform that duty, if

219 (1) Every one is criminally negligent who

shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.

(2) For the purposes of this section, duty means a duty imposed by law.

 
I am also satisfied that the involved officers comported themselves with due care and regard for the Complainant’s health and wellbeing. The Complainant was certainly feeling the effects of the alcohol she had consumed, but she had not so lost control of her faculties that she was a clear and present danger to herself and others. She understood and answered questions, and was able to follow instructions and move on her own two feet. When the Complainant, at one point, mentioned she was going to harm herself, the officer with her at the time, WO #2, spoke to her about it and asked if she wanted to attend hospital. The Complainant retracted the statement, indicating it was against her religion, and refused to go to hospital. On this record, I am unable to fault the officers for releasing her from custody about four hours after she had been apprehended by WO #1. As there were no grounds to hold the Complainant, the officers were under a legal duty to ensure her safe release as soon as possible. And this, they did. First, by attempting to have friends or family attend at the station to accompany the Complainant home, and then, when they could not reach anyone, by arranging for a cab to pick her up.