News Release
SIU Concludes Injury Investigation in Simcoe County
Case Number: 12-PCI-338
Mississauga (10 January, 2013) --- The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to charge any Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Central Hastings detachment officer with a criminal offence in relation to the injury sustained by a 34-year-old man in November of 2012.
The SIU assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to probe the circumstances of this incident. As part of the investigation, three witness officers and four civilian witnesses were interviewed. While both subject officers were interviewed by the SIU, neither provided his duty notes, as is their legal right.
The SIU investigation found that the following events took place on Friday, November 16:
• At approximately 8:30 a.m., two OPP officers arrived at the Central North Correction Centre (CNCC) in order to arrest a man on new charges and bring him back to the Central Hastings detachment. The man had been searched by CNCC staff and dressed in civilian clothing.
• The man was searched by one of the arresting officers and placed in the rear passenger seat of the cruiser. A security belt was placed around his waist, and his hands were handcuffed in front of him and to the belt.
• In the area of Penetanguishene Road and Flos Road 7, the officers heard coughing. As the coughing intensified, they pulled over. When one of the officers pulled on the right rear passenger door, it became apparent that the man had tied a shoelace around his neck and the horizontal security bars on the window.
• Upon opening the door, the shoelace broke. Both officers lowered the man to the side of the road. He was conscious, breathing and was placed in the recovery position.
• The man was taken by ambulance to the South Georgian Bay Hospital, and then airlifted to St. Michael’s Hospital for treatment.
Director Scott said, “The only reasonable conclusion from this investigation is that the man attempted to commit suicide in the back of a marked police vehicle by means of a shoelace tied to a window bar and placed around his neck. Once the officers realized there was a problem, they came to the man’s aid, and he survived this attempted suicide.”
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