News Release

News Release

No Basis to Proceed with Charges After Brantford Foot Chase Ends in Serious Fall

Case Number: 26-OCI-179   

Mississauga, ON (7 August, 2026) ---
In the early morning of April 16, 2026, a Brantford Police Service officer was on patrol when he came upon a physical altercation involving two men in the area of King and Dalhousie Streets. When one of the individuals fled, the officer pursued the 22-year-old man on foot. He was joined by a second officer. As the officers closed in, the man attempted to make his way onto a walkway from the top of a half-wall. Due to the wet and slippery conditions, the man lost his footing and momentarily hung from the walkway’s outer railing. An officer had just managed to grab the man’s right hand but it slipped through his grasp. The man fell to the ground below. He suffered serious injuries in the fall, including trauma to the head, a liver laceration and fractures of the femur, ulna, wrist and pelvis. On his assessment of the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s fall and injuries.
     
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.

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