News Release
SIU Concludes Death Investigation in Brampton
Case Number: 12-OCD-245
Mississauga (18 September, 2012) --- The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to charge a Peel Regional Police officer with any criminal offence in relation to the death of a 40-year-old woman in August of 2012.
The SIU assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to probe the circumstances of this incident. As part of the investigation, two witness officers and three civilian witnesses were interviewed. The subject officer declined to provide to the SIU a statement or a copy of his duty notes, as is his legal right.
The SIU investigation found that the following events took place on Friday, August 24, 2012:
• Just before 1:00 a.m., the subject officer and two other officers were dispatched to an apartment building on Church Street after receiving information that a female was threatening to kill herself.
• The woman stepped onto her 5th floor balcony and tied one end of a bed sheet around her neck, and the other around the balcony railing.
• With two of the officers (including the subject officer) at her apartment door attempting to gain access, and the other officer looking on from the ground-level outside the building, the woman stepped off the balcony and hanged herself.
• The officers forced entry into the apartment and attempted to pull her to safety, but were unable to do so.
• The woman died as the result of a broken neck occasioned by the ligature and the force of the fall.
Director Scott said, “Notwithstanding the officers’ efforts, they were unable to thwart the woman’s decision to take her own life. It is clear that they bear no responsibility for this tragic death.”
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