Director's Report Details

The photograph depicts the damage caused, one of the ladders used to access the Complainant and, underneath the ladder, a hospital bed mattress.

Video/Audio/Photographic Evidence [2]

Body-worn Camera (BWC) footage – SO #1

Starting at about 9:38:06 p.m., September 15, 2023, SO #1 was captured standing in an ED examination room. Two other OPP officers and a nurse were standing in a doorway outside the room. They looked up towards the area of the ceiling, and a nurse spoke with the Complainant. The room appeared in disarray with several ceiling tiles missing. The nurse told the Complainant that he appeared to have consumed bad drugs and was on a really bad trip. She asked the Complainant to come down as his mother and father were worried about him. The nurse asked the Complainant to come down before he fell and injured himself. An unknown male voice was heard telling the Complainant not to touch an electrical box.

SO #1 introduced himself to the Complainant and asked him to come down. SO #1 attempted to build a rapport with the Complainant and advised that everyone was just there to help him. The nurse contacted a member of the Complainant’s family and allowed the Complainant to speak with her. The Complainant refused to come down. He was allowed to speak with his child as well. The nurse requested the Complainant come down as he had cuts and blood all over him.

The Complainant expressed concerns about what would happen to him if he came down from the ceiling. An OPP police officer [believed to have been WO #4] climbed a ladder and removed a ceiling tile in the room in an attempt to convince the Complainant to come down. A nurse also climbed the ladder and attempted to convince the Complainant to come down. The Complainant was allowed to speak with his mother, who also attempted to convince the Complainant to come down. Multiple unsuccessful attempts were made by police officers and the nurse to negotiate with and convince the Complainant to come down on his own.

Starting at about 10:04:57 p.m., members of the South Huron Fire Department (SHFD) arrived in the ED and attempted to convince the Complainant to descend. The Complainant could be heard moving around in the ceiling area.

A female voice was heard warning the Complainant several times not to set something on fire in the ceiling area. The Complainant could be seen crawling through the rafters above the room. He opened a water valve, and water poured onto the floor of the room. The valve was shut off by the SHFD at 10:16:50 p.m.

SO #2 entered the room and was briefed by SO #1. There was a discussion between SO #1 and SO #2 about how to limit the Complainant’s ability to move around in the ceiling area and to continue to negotiate with the Complainant. SO #1 discussed with a member of the SHFD the possibility of airbags or scaffolding to keep the Complainant safe. The primary discussion revolved around preventing the Complainant from being injured.

SO #1 told the Complainant that all of his demands (phone calls to his family) had been met, and insisted that the Complainant come down from the ceiling. The Complainant was argumentative and refused to come down. SO #1 told the Complainant that the police and fire department were there to help him. SO #1’s demeanour was calm, patient and reassuring. SO #1 told the Complainant that everyone was there to help him and that they wanted him to come down of his own free will. He asked the Complainant if he would come down on his own if a ladder was provided. The Complainant refused.

The Complainant opened a valve in the ceiling and water began to pour onto the floor. The valve was closed by a member of the HSFD. A member of the maintenance staff entered the room to assess the damage. Maintenance advised it was a heating valve that had been opened and not fire suppression. SO #2 attempted to convince the Complainant to come down with a bottle of water. A police officer and members of the SHFD began removing items from the room and putting mattresses or cushions on the floor under the Complainant.

Starting at about 11:11:50 p.m., SO #2 climbed a ladder and attempted to engage the Complainant in conversation and convince him to come down. The Complainant could be heard saying, “Ow,” and groaning in pain. SO #2 descended the ladder, spoke with SO #1, and continued to negotiate with the Complainant. The Complainant was reassured that the police were was not there to hurt him, and only wanted to help.

SO #1 told the Complainant to stop touching a box with electrical wires and advised it was dangerous. SO #2 ascended a ladder to obtain a view of the Complainant. SO #2 descended the ladder quickly. The Complainant could be heard moving in the ceiling. The lights went out in the room. SO #1 advised the Complainant that if he kept touching the electrical wires, that OPP would have to act, and again asked the Complainant to come down. SO #1 continued to negotiate with the Complainant and advised him that he had been provided with everything he had asked for and it was time for him to give something and come down. The Complainant refused.

The Complainant expressed doubt that the OPP officers were actually police officers. SO #2 offered to allow the Complainant to speak with a supervisor. SO #1 reassured the Complainant that everyone was telling him the truth and treating him with respect, and that all everyone wanted was for him to come down. The Complainant requested a female police officer to come into the room.

Starting at about 12:19:30 a.m., SO #3 moved some mattresses within the treatment room to below the Complainant. The Complainant asked for a witness in case the police pulled him down. The presence of a sergeant was offered as a witness if the Complainant came down. The Complainant was reassured that the mattresses were being moved in case he fell from the ceiling.

SO #3 climbed a ladder and appeared to look into the ceiling. The Complainant yelled for help several times and begged not to be killed. The Complainant was again reassured that nobody would harm him. A second ladder was brought into the room. The Complainant continued to yell for help. A female OPP officer (believed to be WO #4) identified herself as “the OPP sergeant” to the Complainant and asked him to put his feet down onto a ladder that was directly below him. The Complainant refused to come down and continued yelling for help.

Starting at about 12:31:30 a.m., SO #1 climbed a silver ladder, while SO #3 stood at the top of a yellow step ladder. The Complainant appeared to be in an area of the ceiling located between the two ladders. SO #1 asked the Complainant if he was going to come down, or if the police officers were going to have to come up, and that they had been negotiating with the Complainant for five hours. A male voice (believed to be SO #3) was heard saying, “You’re going to come down one way or the other, now let’s go.” SO #3 could be seen reaching into the ceiling area above the ceiling tiles.

Starting at about 12:33:15 a.m., a male voice could be heard to say, “Get the fuck down now.” The Complainant could be seen atop a heating duct. SO #2 appeared to be standing at the top of the yellow step ladder and reaching into the area above the heating duct. A male voice could be heard telling the Complainant not to kick. SO #2 could be seen punching into the area of the heating duct with his right hand approximately four times. There were sounds of a struggle, and male voices could be heard telling the Complainant to “get down now”. A male voice (believed to be SO #1) could be heard saying, “I’m gonna drive stun him.”

Starting at about 12:35:24 a.m., the Complainant fell from the area of the ceiling. He appeared to fall buttocks first and was closest to SO #2 and the yellow step ladder. He grunted in pain and said, “I’m sorry,” several times. SO #1 descended the ladder. Two police officers [believed to be SO #2 and WO #1] knelt beside the Complainant, who lay on a blue mattress. A nurse stepped away from the Complainant and held a syringe in her right hand. WO #4 and SO #3 stood behind SO #2 and WO #1.

A stretcher was wheeled into the room. SO #1 could be heard to reassure the Complainant that nobody was going to hurt him. The Complainant was in a seated position on the blue mattress with his hands apparently handcuffed to the rear. The Complainant was lifted by the police officers and placed onto the stretcher. Leg restraints were applied by a nurse. SO #1 reassured the Complainant that they would get him help.

During the course of the BWC footage, the ED appeared to be in disarray, heavily damaged, and unable to operate as a functioning emergency department. The OPP officer with the most interaction with the Complainant was SO #1. Medical staff at SHH (specifically, a nurse) appeared to negotiate extensively with the Complainant.

 

OPP Communications Recordings

Starting at about 8:43 p.m., September 15, 2023, a nurse at SHH called 911 to report that the Complainant had been transported to the hospital by ambulance and had been doing lines of cocaine. The Complainant had attempted to defecate in a garbage can and had been taken to the bathroom where he had locked himself for about 30 minutes. It sounded like the Complainant was destroying the bathroom. The nurse requested OPP assistance.

Officers were dispatched to the hospital for a disturbance. They were advised that the Complainant had locked himself in a bathroom and was up in the ceiling. SO #1 advised he would also attend SHH.

The police officers advised OPP dispatch that they could see the Complainant in the ceiling. WO #3 and WO #4 reported that they were responding to the hospital. WO #3 requested SHFD be advised and asked to stand by. SO #3 was dispatched to attend the hospital and SO #2 advised dispatch he would also attend the hospital.

WO #4 spoke with a Mobile Crisis Intervention Response Team (MCIRT) officer and asked how long it would take for him to attend SHH. The MCIRT officer advised he was a distance away, and he was told to disregard.

Starting at about 9:41 p.m., WO #3 called an OPP Sergeant. She advised that the Complainant had been at SHH receiving treatment for a non-police-related issue, and he had locked himself in a bathroom, caused damage and climbed to the ceiling area. WO #3 advised that the Complainant possessed a lighter, and that the emergency department had been evacuated.

The dispatcher advised the OPP sergeant that two OPP Emergency Response Team (ERT) members had been dispatched to SHH. WO #3 advised that she had the SHFD on standby, and that toxicology reports on the Complainant indicated the presence of cocaine in his blood.

The dispatcher spoke with an OPP inspector, briefed him and asked if the incident would require Critical Incident Command (CIC). The dispatcher advised the OPP inspector that OPP officers were speaking with the Complainant, but no attempt had been made to apprehend him. The dispatcher advised that a third ERT officer [known to be SO #2] had been dispatched to SHH.

The OPP inspector advised that the incident did not meet the definition of a barricaded individual, and the CIC was not required. The OPP inspector indicated the ERT could remove the Complainant from the ceiling.

The dispatcher advised that the OPP inspector would not be attending, and that police officers on scene could formulate a plan to remove the Complainant from the ceiling.

The dispatcher advised that SHH was closed for patients and requested other area hospitals be notified of the closure.

WO #1 advised that the Complainant was in custody. The time was confirmed as 12:36:54 a.m.

Materials Obtained from Police Service

Upon request, the SIU obtained the following records from the OPP between September 20, 2023, and November 14, 2023:

• Occurrence Summary;
• General Occurrence;
• Memo Book Notes – WO #3;
• Memo Book Notes – WO #4;
• Memo Book Notes – WO #2;
• Memo Book Notes – WO #1;
• BWC footage – SO #3;
• BWC footage – SO #2;
• BWC footage – SO #1;
• Communications recordings; and
• Photographs of scene.

Materials Obtained from Other Sources

The SIU obtained the following records from the following other sources between September 25, 2023, and October 13, 2023:

• Medical records from Alexandra Marine and General Hospital; and
• Medical records from SHH.

The ERT officers took over negotiations with the Complainant but they too were stymied. The Complainant refused all entreaties to come down. Instead, he attempted to light some insulation on fire with a lighter and had set off the sprinkler system, which caused the shutdown of the ED.

At about 12:30 a.m., it was decided to take the Complainant into custody for the property destruction and under the provisions of the Mental Health Act. With the use of ladders, the ERT officers climbed up towards the Complainant and engaged him physically. Several punches were directed at the Complainant’s hands and arms by SO #2. The Complainant was forced off a duct and fell onto the floor below.

Following his arrest, the Complainant was diagnosed with three rib fractures.

By the time the ERT officers made physical contact with the Complainant, he was clearly subject to arrest under section 17 of the Mental Health Act and for the offence of ‘mischief’ under the Criminal Code. The Complainant’s behaviour had given the officers cause to believe that he had purposefully damaged property, and that he was of unsound mind and a threat to himself and others.