News Release

News Release

SIU Closes Investigation into Death of Man in Bracebridge

Case Number: 13-PCD-051   

Mississauga (26 February, 2013) --- Based on the Special Investigations Unit’s (SIU) preliminary enquiries into the death of a 56-year-old man in Bracebridge last week, SIU Director Ian Scott has terminated the investigation. The incident, involving officers with the Ontario Provincial Police, occurred on Monday, February 18, 2013. 

The SIU investigation determined that at approximately 9 a.m. on this date, an officer was on patrol when he queried the licence plate of the man’s car. Based on the query, the officer activated his emergency equipment, and the man pulled into the McDonald’s Restaurant parking lot at 105 Highway 118 West. While the officer spoke with the man, the man went into medical distress and soon became nonresponsive with labored breathing. The officer called paramedics, and CPR was initiated. The man was rushed to the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare - South Muskoka Memorial Hospital site, but was pronounced deceased shortly after.

A post-mortem examination determined the cause of death to be heart disease.
 
There is simply no evidence that the officer caused or contributed in any way to the man’s death – by all accounts, he died from natural causes. Accordingly, the SIU investigation has been terminated.

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