Director's Report Details

The Special Investigations Unit is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an official where there has been death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019 (SIU Act), officials are defined as police officers, special constables of the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers under the Legislative Assembly Act. The SIU’s jurisdiction covers more than 50 municipal, regional and provincial police services across Ontario.

Under the SIU Act, the Director of the SIU must determine based on the evidence gathered in an investigation whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence was committed. If such grounds exist, the Director has the authority to lay a criminal charge against the official. Alternatively, in cases where no reasonable grounds exist, the Director cannot lay charges. Where no charges are laid, a report of the investigation is prepared and released publicly, except in the case of reports dealing with allegations of sexual assault, in which case the SIU Director may consult with the affected person and exercise a discretion to not publicly release the report having regard to the affected person’s privacy interests.

Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019

Pursuant to section 34, certain information may not be included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• 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 Personal Privacy Act

Pursuant to section 14 (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.

Pursuant to section 15 of the SIU Act, the SIU may investigate the conduct of officials, be they police officers, special constables of the Niagara Parks Commission or peace officers under the Legislative Assembly Act, that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

A person sustains a “serious injury” for purposes of the SIU’s jurisdiction if they: sustain an injury as a result of which they are admitted to hospital; suffer a fracture to the skull, or to a limb, rib or vertebra; suffer burns to a significant proportion of their body; lose any portion of their body; or, as a result of an injury, experience a loss of vision or hearing.

In addition, a “serious injury” means any other injury sustained by a person that is likely to interfere with the person’s health or comfort and is not transient or trifling in nature.

This report relates to the SIU’s investigation into the serious injury of a 40-year-old woman (the “Complainant”).

Notification of the SIU[1]

On February 28, 2024, at 12:54 a.m., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) notified the SIU of an injury to the Complainant.

According to the OPP, on February 27, 2024, the Complainant was seen on City of Trenton video cameras by OPP staff. She was known to have an outstanding warrant. At 10:41 p.m., the Subject Official (SO) located the Complainant. After a short foot chase in the park at Market Square, near King Street, he arrested her on the strength of the warrant. At 11:08 p.m., the Complainant was transported by Emergency Medical Service paramedics to the Trenton Memorial Hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured right arm. She was released at 12:19 a.m.

The Team

Date and time team dispatched: 2024/02/28 at 7:50 a.m.

Date and time SIU arrived on scene: 2024/02/28 at 8:05 a.m.

Number of SIU Investigators assigned: 3

Number of SIU Forensic Investigators assigned: 0

Affected Person (aka “Complainant”):

40-year-old female; declined interview; medical records obtained and reviewed

Subject Official

SO Declined interview and to provide notes, as is the subject official’s legal right

The Scene

The events in question transpired on and around a parking lot adjacent to 19 Murphy Street, Quinte West.

Captured in November 2023, the below Google Maps image depicted the parking lot, with north oriented (essentially) to the right of the image, and the pale blue front façade of 19 Murphy Street (a business operated as ABC Taxi). The arrow was inserted to indicate generally where the Complainant was handcuffed.

Figure 1 – Scene of the arrest on Murphy Street

Video/Audio/Photographic Evidence[2]

Body-worn Camera (BWC) Footage – The SO

At 10:45:13 p.m., February 27, 2024, the Complainant was captured standing at the curb on a roadway. The Complainant spoke towards the SO. The SO held a pen in his right hand and his memorandum book in his left. Each made gestures with their hands. The Complainant held a confused look on her face, and papers in her right hand. Her left hand was free.

At 10:45:42 p.m., the audio track on the recording kicked-in, and the Complainant asked, “Are you looking for someone?” The SO replied, “Yes, for you.” The Complainant said, “No.” The SO told her there was a warrant for her arrest, but he needed to confirm her identification. The Complainant brought her left hand up and in front of her face. The SO said, “So, [name of the Complainant],” and the Complainant replied, “K, no, you said [different name provided]. So, there’s a warrant for [different name provided]’s arrest?” The SO repeated the Complainant’s first name and asked for her date of birth. The Complainant told him she was not comfortable with his questions because there was a warrant for [different name]’s arrest. The SO interrupted, called her ma’am, and told her he needed to identify her. The Complainant replied, “Man, no I’m not a man.” The SO repeated, “Ma’am.” She told him she had identified herself, but the warrant was for someone called [different name provided]. The two bantered back and forth about the Complainant’s name and date of birth. She again refused to provide her date of birth.

At 10:46:23 p.m., the Complainant backed away from the SO saying she was not comfortable with the exchange. By 10:46:26 p.m., she turned and ran across the street yelling, “Stop.” She continued to run, yelling, into a parking lot. The SO followed and was never more than a step or two behind her. He made the police radio broadcast, “10-78,[3] foot pursuit.”

At 10:46:33 p.m., the SO reached forward and took the top of the Complainant’s left shoulder under his left hand. At 10:46:35 p.m., he had the top of her right shoulder under his right hand. At that point he was so close to her the BWC had no view except the blacked-out back of the Complainant’s clothing. Having taken her shoulders, the pair remained standing and no longer ran. The Complainant continually yelled for help. At 10:46:50 p.m., the SO pushed the Complainant to the ground, prone on her right side. Her right arm reached forward ahead of her. The momentum with which she reached the ground was minimal and controlled.

At 10:46:54 p.m., the Complainant, prone on her stomach, with her hands bent-elbowed at her sides, yelled, “Ow,” and, “Please, I’m not resisting.” The SO, who was above her mid-back, attempted to bring her left arm behind her back with his left hand. The Complainant told the SO she was sorry, was not resisting, and would comply. The SO replied, “Okay,” before making a police radio broadcast that he had her on the ground.

At 10:47:09 p.m., the SO asked the Complainant to give him her hands. She said she was sorry, and that she had a “really bad week”. She kept her left arm bent and close to, or under her body. The SO made another effort to bring that arm behind her back using his left hand. The Complainant’s right arm still extended in front of her. The SO made more requests for the Complainant to surrender her hands. At 10:47:12 p.m., she told him she could not breathe. At about that same time, the SO was able to bring her left arm behind her back. As her left arm rotated to the small of her back, the Complainant began to squirm more vigorously, and yell that the SO was hurting her. The SO repeated requests she give him her hands. He remained calm-toned throughout. The Complainant continued to yell and tell him she could not breathe.

At 10:47:33 p.m., a door to [ABC Taxi] opened and two men emerged. At about that same time, the SO, who already had the Complainant’s left arm against the small of her back, reached for her right wrist with his right hand. He brought her arm up, then rounded it to the small of her back. The Complainant yelled, “Ow, ow, ow.” At 10:47:40 p.m., she said, “My arm, you just broke my arm, oh my god.” The SO asked her to stop resisting. At 10:47:43 p.m., she yelled, “My arm.” The SO told her to stop resisting and produced handcuffs. He manipulated the handcuffs in his right hand trying to orientate them to an operable position. At 10:47:45 p.m., as he did that, a second police officer [now known to be Officer #1] ran to the pair. Officer #1 crouched by the Complainant’s right side, near her head, just as the SO attempted to secure the Complainant’s right wrist in a handcuff. The Complainant yelled, “He hurt my arm, he broke my arm.” Both police officers repeated that the Complainant should stop resisting as she wiggled on the ground.

At 10:47:54 p.m., the SO’s BWC was momentarily obstructed when he leaned closer to the Complainant. When he moved upright, at 10:47:55 p.m., a third police officer had arrived and crouched by the Complainant’s left side.

All the police officers called the Complainant by her first name and asked her to stop resisting. She replied she was not resisting, said, “He broke my arm,” and yelled. Handcuffs had still not been secured around her wrists.

Officer #1 maneuvered the Complainant’s right arm to her side. The police officer on the Complainant’s left side maneuvered her left arm to the small of her back. The SO remained astride the Complainant’s lower body. The Complainant repeated her arm was broken. The police officers asked which arm.

At 10:48:25 p.m., the SO took the Complainant’s right arm and maneuvered it to the small of her back. By that time, her left wrist was secured in a handcuff. The Complainant repeated she could not feel it, and the police officers repeatedly asked which arm. One of the police officers asked why she was screaming, and she replied because she could. The Complainant yelled her arm was going numb and she could not feel it.

The Complainant was brought to a kneeling position and, at 10:48:56 p.m., the SO left her in the custody of the other two police officers and walked back along the route he had chased the Complainant.

At 10:49:18 p.m., the SO recovered the papers the Complainant held in her hand when the recording began and dropped as she ran (presumedly) before he walked back towards the Complainant and the other police officers. On the way he encountered a police officer who asked why he arrested her. He replied she had a warrant for her arrest, he asked for her name, and she started running. The police officer asked if the SO already knew she had a warrant and he replied he did.

At 10:49:50 p.m., the SO reached back to where he left the Complainant. She sat on a curb and told two police officers she did not mean to resist, the light was in her eyes, and she did not know what was happening. She said she could feel her shoulder popping and yelled in pain. The police officers told her an ambulance was coming and to take deep breaths. A police officer asked if she had any drugs or needles on her. She said she did not use needles but had a pipe in her pocket. The Complainant identified her bag and asked the police officers to be careful; there were two kitchen knives in the bag.

At 10:53:10 p.m., the Complainant said she was sorry, and that she knew she missed a court date but did not have a telephone so could not call in. A friend told her that her name was not on the docket, so she was not supposed to be in court, and she was going to call the courthouse the next day.

A police officer told her she was under arrest for theft and fail to appear. Discussions continued surrounding the likelihood of a syringe being in the Complainant’s bag. The Complainant continued to yell that her arm hurt and, at 10:55:20 p.m., police officers stood the Complainant up, released her handcuffs from behind her back and secured them in front of her body. The Complainant said she thought her arm went numb because it was bent. She sat back down as the SO told her that her arm was not likely broken because she was moving it. The Complainant continued to exhibit she was in pain.

The Complainant told the police officers she was sorry and asked how long she would have stayed in jail with a warrant if she had just been arrested. The SO asked why she ran. She replied she panicked, had a bad day, had overdosed, and just got out of the hospital the day before. The Complainant and the police officers remained in conversation about warrants and court dates.

At 10:58:58 p.m., paramedics arrived and wheeled a gurney to the Complainant. One of the paramedics greeted the Complainant and reminded her they met the night before when she overdosed. The Complainant apologised for not remembering him and said her right arm was broken. One of the police officers and the Complainant discussed the process that would occur with the outstanding warrant.

At 11:02:15 p.m., the Complainant was on the gurney and discussed medical matters with the paramedics. The police officers spoke and agreed the SO would ride with the Complainant to hospital in the ambulance and one would follow in his police vehicle. The Complainant was moved to, and put in, the ambulance, accompanied by the SO.

As the remainder of the video ran, it captured the Complainant’s care in the back of the ambulance, her conversations with paramedics, her arrival at the hospital, and being taken inside the hospital on the gurney.

Once the Complainant was inside hospital, the SO, outside the hospital, and other police officers, discussed potential decisions going forward. The SO entered the hospital, and de-activated the audio on his BWC before the footage ended at 11:13:11 p.m.

Communication Records - Telephone Recordings

On February 27, 2024, 10:39:05 p.m., the OPP’s Provincial Communications Centre (PCC) took a telephone call from an operations clerk at the Quinte West Detachment. The caller had been, as part of his assignment, monitoring video cameras in Trenton’s downtown. He asked if there was a police officer in the downcore area. The communications operator thought the SO was available. The caller asked them to dispatch the SO to behind the Royal Bank, Market Square, because he had spotted the Complainant on camera. The Complainant was the subject of two warrants held by the Quinte West Detachment. The communications operator said they would do that.

Communications Recordings / Computer-assisted Dispatch (CAD) Report – Radio

There were no time stamps associated to the communications audio except when they started and ended. The communications began on February 27, 2024, at 10:41:05 p.m. The SO was dispatched to the area of Market Square and King Street, behind Bibles for Missions, to look for the Complainant.

A second police officer pre-empted himself from another call to assist the SO. That second police officer said he did not know if the warrants had been executed yet, but knew the Complainant was wanted. The PCC operator confirmed she was wanted and offered to provide the details. That second police officer responded they would check her name if they found her.

The SO next broadcast he was in a foot pursuit. The second police officer asked for his location. The PCC operator responded the SO was near Market Square. The SO broadcast he had a woman [the Complainant] under arrest and on the ground.

A third police officer broadcast a request for ambulance as the Complainant complained she was in pain. The next broadcasts were for ambulance arrival time and an update about where the Complainant and the police officers could be found.

That third police officer notified the PCC when the ambulance arrived. The second police officer broadcast the Complainant was going to be transported to hospital, and the SO was going to ride in the ambulance with her.

A few administrative broadcasts were made and, on February 28, 2024, the SO broadcast he was taking the Complainant from the hospital to a centre. He arrived and dropped her off at the centre at 12:24:55 a.m.

Materials Obtained from Police Service

Upon request, the SIU obtained the following materials from the OPP between February 29, 2024, and March 4, 2024:

• BWC footage – the SO;
• BWC footage – Officer #1;
• Training records – the SO;
• Communications recordings;
• CAD Report;
• Copies of the Complainant’s warrants;
• Service Policy – Use of Force; and
• Service Policy – Arrest.

Materials Obtained from Other Sources

The SIU obtained the following records from other sources on March 4, 2024:

• The Complainant’s medical records.

The evidence collected by the SIU, including video footage that captured the events in question, gives rise to the following scenario. As was his legal right, the SO did not agree an interview with the SIU or the release of his notes.

In the evening of February 27, 2024, the SO was dispatched to the area behind the Royal Bank, Market Square, in downtown Trenton. An operations clerk at the Quinte West Detachment had spotted the Complainant via video feed from cameras in the area. The Complainant was subject to outstanding arrest warrants.

The SO arrived on scene and approached the Complainant. The officer attempted to establish her identity and explained the warrants in effect for her arrest. The Complainant appeared confused by the officer’s questions. After some back and forth with the SO, the Complainant began to run away.

The SO quickly caught up to the Complainant in the parking lot beside the building at 19 Murphy Street. He took hold of her shoulders and pushed her to the ground. Shortly thereafter, the officer managed to bring both her arms behind her back. As he maneuvered her right arm behind the back, the Complainant protested that he had broken her arm. Two other officers arrived on scene shortly and assisted in securing the Complainant’s arms in handcuffs.

Following her arrest, the Complainant was transported to hospital and diagnosed with a fractured right shoulder.

Section 25(1), Criminal Code - Protection of Persons Acting Under Authority

25 (1) Every one who is required or authorized by law to do anything in the administration or enforcement of the law

(a) as a private person,

(b) as a peace officer or public officer,

(c) in aid of a peace officer or public officer, or

(d) by virtue of his office,

is, if he acts on reasonable grounds, justified in doing what he is required or authorized to do and in using as much force as is necessary for that purpose.

The Complainant was seriously injured in the course of her arrest by an OPP officer in Trenton on February 27, 2024. The SIU was notified of the incident and initiated an investigation naming the SO the subject official. The investigation is now concluded. On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the SO committed a criminal offence in connection with the Complainant’s arrest and injury.

The Complainant was subject to arrest at the time of her engagement with the SO. There were two warrants in effect for her arrest, including one for having missed a court date.

With respect to the force used by the SO in the Complainant’s apprehension, I am satisfied it was legally justified. The takedown was reasonable. The Complainant had given the officer indication that she was motivated to escape when she took flight. The tactic, which was performed in a controlled fashion, brought the Complainant’s flight to an end while positioning the officer to better deal with any additional resistance. Indeed, while on the ground, the Complainant refused to surrender her arms despite the SO’s repeated requests, and she struggled against the officer’s efforts as he wrestled her arms behind the back. The injury, in my view, was the unfortunate result of countervailing forces being brought to bear on the Complainant’s right arm, not any excessive force applied by the officer.

For the foregoing reasons, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed.

Date: June 27, 2024

Electronically approved by

Joseph Martino

Director

Special Investigations Unit