News Release
SIU Terminates Investigation into Injury of Man while in OPP Hawkesbury Detachment Cell
Case Number: 17-PCI-237
Other News Releases Related to Case 17-PCI-237
SIU Investigators Examining Incident Inside Hawkesbury OPP Detachment
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into a serious injury sustained by a 56-year-old man in August of 2017 in Hawkesbury.
On August 30, 2017, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers attended a residence to deal with an incident of a domestic nature. The officers arrested a man and transported him to the Hawkesbury OPP detachment where he was lodged in a cell. While in the cell, the man moved forward quickly and struck the wall hard with his head. Shortly after, he ran head first into the cell door bars. This strike caused the man to fall on his back, resulting in his head hitting the concrete floor. He was transported to hospital for treatment.
Director Loparco said, “The evidence collected in the course of the SIU’s initial inquiries established that the man’s injury was self-inflicted. As such, this incident does not fall within the mandate of the SIU and therefore this 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