News Release

News Release

No Criminal Charges to Issue in Connection with Drug Overdose While Man was Lodged in OPP Norfolk Detachment Cell

Case Number: 26-PCI-060   

Mississauga, ON (2 June, 2026) ---
In the early afternoon of February 6, 2026, OPP officers arrested a 53-year-old man inside a residence in Simcoe as he was unlawfully inside the abandoned home. The man was searched at the scene and again at the OPP Norfolk Detachment. Some drug paraphernalia was confiscated. Asked whether he had consumed illicit substances in the last 24 hours, the man said he had not. He was lodged in a cell. Upon returning to his cell from a phone room where he had contacted a lawyer, the man retrieved fentanyl from vials secreted in his groin area and consumed a quantity of the drug. He began to suffer the effects of the drug and became unresponsive on the cell floor. An officer administered a couple of doses of nasal naloxone and contacted EMS. Paramedics arrived on scene and took charge of the man’s care. He was transported to hospital and treated for acute fentanyl overdose. On his assessment of the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s overdose.

Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.

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