News Release
SIU Concludes Injury Investigation in Windsor
Case Number: 13-OCI-096
Mississauga (21 May, 2013) --- The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to charge any Windsor Police Service officer with a criminal offence in relation to the injury sustained by a 24-year-old male last month.
The SIU assigned two investigators and one forensic investigator to probe the circumstances of this incident. As part of the investigation, four witness officers and three civilian witnesses were interviewed. Both subject officers provided a copy of their duty notes, but declined the SIU’s invitation to provide a statement, as is their legal right.
The SIU investigation found that the following events took place on Wednesday, April 10:
• In the afternoon hours, a man was riding his bicycle in an erratic fashion initially westbound on Prince Road and then southbound on Sandwich Street. Civilians observed him striking a passenger’s side window mirror with his hand on Prince Road and again striking another side mirror of a truck on Sandwich Street. The man was also observed falling off his bicycle and landing on his face on the roadway. He managed to get up, mount his bicycle and continue to ride in a southbound direction as police were being summoned to the scene.
• Two Amherstburg police officers who happened to be in the vicinity spoke to the man. Shortly thereafter, the two subject officers arrived. The man was arrested for public intoxication and he was transported to the Windsor Police detention centre where he was detained.
• The man complained of a sore shoulder, and was subsequently transported to the Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital where he was diagnosed as sustaining a fractured right shoulder.
Director Scott said, “In my view, it is more likely than not that the man sustained his fractured shoulder as a result of his fall from the bicycle, as opposed to any interaction that he had with the subject officers. Accordingly, I have no reasonable grounds to believe that the subject officers were responsible for this injury.”
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