News Release
SIU Investigating Incident in St. Catharines where Man Fled from Officers, Crashed Vehicle, was Arrested by K-9 Unit
Case Number: 17-OCI-338
Other News Releases Related to Case 17-OCI-338
The province’s Special Investigations Unit has started an investigation into an incident in St. Catharines that ended with a collision between two civilian vehicles and an arrest involving the Niagara Regional Police K-9 Unit.
Preliminary information suggests the following occurred:
- Just before 2:30 p.m. on November 16, 2017, Niagara Regional Police officers attempted to arrest a man near Welland Avenue and Geneva Street.
- The man fled.
- Near the intersection of Welland Ave. and Bunting Road, the man crashed his vehicle into another vehicle driven by a 29-year-old man. That man suffered minor injuries.
- The man who was fleeing from police was arrested a short distance from the crash by a member of the K-9 Unit.
- The 43-year-old man suffered a serious leg injury and was treated at hospital.
Four investigators and three forensic investigators have been assigned to this incident.
The SIU is urging anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529. The Unit is also asking anyone who may have any video evidence related to this incident to upload that video through the SIU website.
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