News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Ottawa Falling Injuries
Case Number: 12-OCI-128
Mississauga (12 July, 2012) --- The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to charge an Ottawa Police Service (OPS) officer with a criminal offence in regards to the injuries sustained by an 18-year-old man in May of 2012.
The SIU assigned three investigators to probe the circumstances of this incident. The subject officer declined a request to be interviewed and did not provide a copy of his duty notes, as is his legal right. Three witness officers and one civilian witness were interviewed.
The SIU investigation found that the following events took place on Friday, May 4:
• In the morning of that day, numerous people called police to report they had seen a man standing on top of a nine foot sound barrier on Hwy 417 near the Parkdale Ramp. The subject officer and two other witness officers were dispatched to the scene.
• The subject officer was the first to arrive on scene. The 18-year-old man threw a bottle of pills in the direction of the subject officer’s police cruiser and then jumped from the highway ramp to the Light Rapid Transit railway below, a distance of 20 metres.
• The man was later diagnosed as sustaining multiple fractures to both feet and his pelvis, and a fractured orbital bone.
Director Scott said, “The man received his serious injuries as a consequence of the 20 metre fall and not as a result of any interaction with the subject officer. Accordingly, I am of the view that there is no credible information supporting the inference that the subject officer was responsible for the man’s serious injuries, and no criminal charge can be laid against him.”
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as 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