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 an 18-year-old woman (the “Complainant”).

Notification of the SIU[1]

On November 25, 2024, at 9:27 a.m. (EST), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) called the SIU with the following information.

On November 24, 2024, at 6:27 p.m.,[2] the Sioux Lookout OPP received a 911 call from a staff member with the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority. The staff member indicated that the Complainant had left the facility saying she would jump off a bridge. This was the third time that date the OPP were called for the Complainant’s suicide threats. At 6:44 p.m., Witness Official (WO) #1 and WO #2 located the Complainant in the Tourist Information Centre parking lot, 11 First Avenue South, Sioux Lookout. The Complainant was arrested for breach of the peace and apprehended under the Mental Health Act. She was handcuffed without incident and transported to the detachment, about two kilometres away. WO #1 and WO #2 did not search the Complainant after her arrest but they arranged for a female officer to meet them at the detachment. Upon arrival at the detachment, WO #1 and WO #2 met the Subject Official (SO) in the custody area. The Complainant’s handcuffs were removed, whereupon she immediately retrieved a small razor blade and superficially cut her wrists. When ordered to drop the razor blade, the Complainant put it in her mouth and swallowed it. The Complainant was transported to the Sioux Lookout Meno-Ya-Win Health Centre (SLMHC) by paramedic services. She was admitted to the hospital to have the razor blade removed.

The Team

Date and time team dispatched: 2024/11/25 at 9:54 a.m. (EST)

Date and time SIU arrived on scene: 2024/11/25 at 12:14 p.m. (EST)

Number of SIU Investigators assigned: 2

Number of SIU Forensic Investigators assigned: 1

Affected Person (aka “Complainant”):

18-year-old female; interviewed; medical records obtained and reviewed

The Complainant was interviewed on November 25, 2024.

Subject Official

SO Interviewed but did not provide notes, as is the subject official’s legal right

The subject official was interviewed on April 10, 2025.

Witness Officials

WO #1 Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

WO #2 Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

The witness officials were interviewed on April 2, 2025.

Investigative Delay

Delay was incurred when the investigation, originally submitted to the Director’s Office for possible discontinuation, was returned to the investigation team for additional investigation. Delay was also attributable to workload pressures in the Director’s Office.

The Scene

The events in question transpired inside the Sioux Lookout OPP Detachment, 62 Queen Street, Sioux Lookout.

Video/Audio/Photographic Evidence[3]

Custody Footage

On November 24, 2024, starting at about 7:48:57 p.m., the SO was captured standing in a sally port [Sioux Lookout OPP Detachment].

Starting at about 7:49:53 p.m., a police vehicle arrived in the sally port. A police officer [WO #1] exited the vehicle. A woman [the Complainant] was removed from the rear prisoner compartment. Her hands were handcuffed behind the back.

Starting at about 7:51:07 p.m., the SO and WO #1 escorted the Complainant into the booking room. The Complainant was led over to a bench. The SO removed the handcuffs from the Complainant. As the handcuffs were removed, the Complainant placed her hands on the wall in front of her and then sat on the bench.

Starting at about 7:52:02 p.m., the Complainant removed a jacket, sweater, hat, hair elastic, socks and shoes, and placed them in a bin.

Starting at about 7:52:49 p.m., WO #1 provided the Complainant a gown. The SO led the Complainant over to a door. The Complainant entered through the doorway while the SO remained outside the door.

Starting at about 7:53:00 p.m., the door closed but remained slightly open as the SO peered through the opening.

Starting at about 7:53:11 p.m., the SO opened the door slightly more and looked inside.

Starting at about 7:53:19 p.m., the SO entered through the doorway.

Starting at about 7:53:24 p.m., WO #1, who meandered around the booking room, turned suddenly and ran towards the door. He entered through the doorway, the door opening wide. The Complainant appeared to be on the ground as the police officers stood over her.

Starting at about 7:55:42 p.m., the Complainant was stood up and escorted out the doorway and towards the booking room bench. She sat down on the bench.

Starting at about 7:56:10 p.m., the Complainant was stood up to be escorted somewhere. She collapsed to her knees and sat on the floor. She remained in that position until paramedic services arrived.

Starting at about 7:56:20 p.m., an unidentified female plainclothes staff member of the detachment, holding a mop, entered the door where the Complainant had been left alone with the gown. She mopped the floor of the room.

Starting at about 8:10:45 p.m., paramedic services arrived.

Materials Obtained from Police Service

Upon request, the SIU obtained the following records from the OPP between November 25, 2024, and March 27, 2025:

• Custody footage
• Notes – WO #1
• Notes – WO #2

Materials Obtained from Other Sources

The SIU obtained the Complainant’s medical records from SLMHC on December 3, 2024.

The evidence collected by the SIU, including interviews with the Complainant and the SO, and video footage that captured the incident in part, gives rise to the following scenario.

The Complainant was arrested the evening of November 24, 2024, for breach of the peace in Sioux Lookout. The arresting officers – WO #1 and WO #2 – had located her following a call she had placed to a crisis line indicating she wanted to jump off a bridge. This was not the first time this date that police had been dispatched to help locate a reportedly suicidal Complainant. The officers, aware from previous experience that the Complainant was known to carry razor blades in her mouth and underwear, briefly patted her down and checked her pockets before transporting her to the station to be searched more thoroughly by a female officer.

At the station, the SO was assigned to conduct a strip search of the Complainant. With the door partially open and the SO monitoring from the outside, the Complainant was placed in a room to change into a gown. While in the room, the Complainant retrieved a pencil sharpener blade from her mouth and started to cut her arms with it. The SO noticed what she was doing and entered the room. She took control of the Complainant’s arms and handcuffed them behind the back. Asked where the blade was, the Complainant said she had swallowed it.

Paramedics arrived on scene and transported the Complainant to hospital where she underwent surgery to remove the razor blade.

Section 215, Criminal Code - Failure to Provide Necessaries

215 (1) Every one is under a legal duty

(c) to provide necessaries of life to a person under his charge if that person

(i) is unable, by reason of detention, age, illness, mental disorder or other cause, to withdraw himself from that charge, and

(ii) is unable to provide himself with necessaries of life.

(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

(b) with respect to a duty imposed by paragraph (1)(c), the failure to perform the duty endangers the life of the person to whom the duty is owed or causes or is likely to cause the health of that person to be injured permanently.

Section 221, Criminal Code - Causing Bodily Harm by Criminal Negligence

221 Every person who by criminal negligence causes bodily harm to another person is guilty of (a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years; or (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.

The Complainant was seriously injured in the custody of the OPP on November 24, 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 incident.

The offences that arise for consideration are failure to provide the necessaries of life and criminal negligence causing bodily harm contrary to sections 215 and 221 of the Criminal Code, respectively. Both require something more than a simple want of care to give rise to liability. The former is predicated, in part, on conduct that amounts to a marked departure from the level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in the circumstances. The latter is premised on even more egregious conduct that demonstrates a wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons. It is not made out unless the neglect constitutes a marked and substantial departure from a reasonable standard of care. In the instant case, the question is whether there was any want of care on the part of the SO, sufficiently serious to attract criminal sanction, that endangered the Complainant’s life or contributed to her injury. In my view, there was not.

Though the Complainant was able to access a razor blade and use it to self-harm while in the custody of the police, I am unable to reasonably conclude that she did so because of any transgression by her custodians of the standard of care prescribed by the criminal law. The Complainant had been briefly searched at the scene of her arrest, and was in the midst of a strip search when she retrieved the blade from her mouth. Short of a body cavity search, it is not clear how the SO or any of the officers could have confiscated the blade and, yet, it is arguable whether there were grounds to justify such an invasive search. Even if there were, it would be speculation to suggest the Complainant could have been prevented from self-harming given the speed with which events unfolded. Lastly, it bears noting that the SO quickly noticed something was amiss and acted with dispatch to intervene.

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

Date: June 10, 2025

Electronically approved by

Joseph Martino

Director

Special Investigations Unit