News Release
SIU Terminates Fort Frances Investigation; Man’s Injury Self-inflicted and Not Serious
Case Number: 18-PCI-200
The Acting Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into an incident involving a 28-year-old man and officers with the Ontario Provincial Police Rainy River detachment.
On the evening of July 2, 2018, officers arrested the man at a home in Fort Frances in relation to a domestic situation. The next day, during a court appearance, the man was seated in the prisoner’s box when he became agitated and then purposefully struck his head on the prisoner box railing causing his head to bleed. Two officers were standing several feet away from him on either side of the prisoner box. One of the officers was able to intervene and prevent any further injury. The man was taken to La Verendyre Hospital for examination of a possible head injury.
Acting Director Martino said, “The medical evidence received by the SIU indicates the man suffered a non-serious injury. Further, the evidence from persons present at the time is uncontested that the injury was self-inflicted. Accordingly, I have terminated the investigation into this incident.”
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