News Release
SIU Concludes Brampton Death Investigation
Case Number: 14-OCD-051
Other News Releases Related to Case 14-OCD-051
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Tony Loparco, has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to charge a Peel Regional Police (PRP) officer with any criminal offence in relation to the death of a 25-year-old man in February of this year.
The SIU assigned six investigators and two forensic investigators to probe the circumstances of this incident. As part of the investigation, four witness officers and three civilian witnesses were interviewed. The subject officer provided the SIU with a copy of his duty notes but did not consent to an interview, as is his legal right. During the SIU’s investigation, a crossbow was located in the man’s bedroom and members of his family confirmed that he had received a “bow and arrow set” as a gift some time ago. Also, at the time of the post mortem, two notes were found in the man’s socks that clearly indicated suicidal ideation.
The SIU investigation found that the following events took place on Wednesday, February 26, 2014:
- At approximately 7:00 p.m., the man’s father contacted PRP to attend the family’s apartment unit located at 370 Steeles Avenue East regarding a domestic matter involving his son.
- Three witness officers were the first to arrive at the scene. They spoke with the father in the lobby and then proceeded to make their way up to the family’s apartment.
- The father entered his son’s bedroom and observed him seated at his computer. He attempted to engage his son in conversation, but his son was not interested.
- The son shouted at his father and threw a kitchen knife at him. The knife missed his father and fell to the floor of the bedroom.
- The father and the witness officers removed themselves from the bedroom to the hallway outside the bedroom door.
- Acting on instructions from the subject officer, who had been monitoring the unfolding events via police radio, the witness officers closed the door and refrained from engaging the man pending the subject officer’s arrival at the scene.
- At about 7:20 p.m. the subject officer and another witness officer entered the apartment.
- The officers discussed their options and there was some talk that the subject officer would deploy his conducted energy weapon if and when the man exited the bedroom.
- The subject officer called out to the man on several occasions but received no response. The subject officer decided the officers could no longer wait when he learned from the officers who had been dealing with the man before his arrival that they had heard a groan coming from within the bedroom.
- Believing that a quick entry into the bedroom was now necessary, the subject officer opened the door and walked in. The time was about 7:25 p.m.
- The subject officer found the man slumped over in a pool of blood and unconscious. The officers turned him onto his back to commence CPR and noticed an arrow sticking out of his chest.
- Paramedics arrived on the scene and began to work on the man before transporting him to the Brampton Civic Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Director Loparco concluded, “It is clear on this evidence that neither the subject officer nor any of the PRP officers present in the apartment had anything to do with the man’s death. I am satisfied that the officers acted reasonably throughout in pursuit of their duty to protect and preserve life, first securing the bedroom and attempting to negotiate with the man through the bedroom door, and then entering the bedroom when it became clear he was not answering because he may have harmed himself.
“In the final analysis, the available evidence indicates that the man was suicidal at the time of the events in question and that he managed to impale himself with an arrow from a crossbow he had in his possession, shooting himself with it while the officers were stationed outside the bedroom door and dying as the result of the self-inflicted chest wound.”
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