News Release
SIU Appealing for Witnesses to Interaction in St. Catharines
Case Number: 15-OCI-054
Mississauga (10 April, 2015) --- Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is appealing for witnesses to an interaction that occurred last month between a 21-year-old man and officers with the Niagara Regional Police Service.
Preliminary information indicates the following:
- In the early morning hours of Saturday March 7, 2015, around 1:30 a.m., a uniformed female officer from the Niagara Regional Police Service was driving in the Market Square parking lot in downtown St. Catharines;
- She drove up to a 21-year-old man who was on foot. The officer exited her cruiser and became involved in an interaction with the man. Other officers arrived. There was an altercation and the man was arrested;
- He was later taken to hospital for treatment of an injury.
The SIU has assigned three investigators to probe the circumstances of this incident.
Anyone who may have information about this incident is asked to contact the SIU at (416) 622-0748 or 1-800-787-8529, and quote case # 15-OCI-054.
If you or someone you know is an affected person in need of support, please call the Affected Persons Program General Referral Line at 1-877-641-1897 or click here for more information: siu.on.ca/en/apc.php
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