News Release

News Release

SIU Terminates Investigation into Man’s Self-Inflicted Head Injury in NAPS Custody

Case Number: 25-ICI-484   

Mississauga, ON (10 March, 2026) ---
The Deputy Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Stacey O’Brien, has terminated an investigation into a 26-year-old man’s reported head injury while in police custody in the Cochrane District of northeastern Ontario. 

On November 27, 2025, the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS) notified the SIU that a man they arrested earlier that day in relation to an intimate partner violence occurrence was admitted to the hospital. While the man was being transported to the OPP Iroquois Falls Detachment, the man struck his head against the partition several times. At the detachment, he struck his head against the sally port wall, and when escorted to his cell, he further struck his head against the wall of the cell several times. 

EMS was contacted and took him to hospital where the man was reportedly diagnosed with amphetamine intoxication and a head injury. Efforts to speak with the man since the incident have been unsuccessful. Video evidence appears to support the man experiencing a substance-induced crisis and striking his head against multiple surfaces throughout the duration of his arrest, showing no police officers to be responsible for his actions. Additionally, the absence of a statement from the man results in an insufficient evidentiary foundation to proceed with an investigation. Accordingly, the file has been closed.

If you or someone you know has been negatively affected by an incident under SIU investigation and would like support, the Affected Persons Program is here to help. You can reach us at 1-877-641-1897. Support is free, confidential, and available 24/7, every day of the year.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (municipal, regional and provincial police officers, police officers with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, 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

Lisez ce communiqué en français.

Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES