News Release

News Release

SIU Concludes Investigation into Man’s Drug Overdose in Pembroke OPP Custody

Case Number: 25-PCI-496   

Mississauga, ON (1 April, 2026) ---
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, found no reasonable grounds to believe an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the drug overdose suffered by a 44-year-old man while in custody. On December 2, 2025, officers were called to a residence in Pembroke for a disturbance involving the man. 

The man was arrested for breaching a probation order. He was searched and placed in the backseat of the police cruiser. While there, he obtained a white substance from the crotch area of his pants and ate it. The man fell into medical distress and officers provided Narcan while paramedics were called. The man was taken to hospital for treatment of a drug overdose.

Director Martino found it regrettable that the bag of drugs was not detected and confiscated prior to the man’s ingestion of the drugs in the cruiser, but noted it seemed unlikely that anything short of a strip search would have revealed the item given its location.

Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):

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.

Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES