News Release
SIU Terminates Guelph Death Investigation
Case Number: 18-OOD-218
Other News Releases Related to Case 18-OOD-218
The Acting Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated the investigation into the death last month of a 49-year-old man in Guelph.
In the early morning hours of July 21, 2018, Guelph Police Service officers responded to a medical assistance call at an apartment building in the area of Waterloo Avenue and Beechwood Avenue. A man had gone vital signs absent, and friends of the man had performed CPR on him and had administered nasal and injectable naloxone. Upon arrival, one of the officers provided his Narcan nasal spray to one of the friends to administer to the man while the officer took over CPR. Paramedics arrived soon after, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Acting Director Martino said, “By the time officers arrived, the man had been vital signs absent for some time and unresponsive to the attempts made by his friends and others to revive him, which included CPR and the administration of nasal and injectable naloxone. It is clear that none of the officers caused or contributed to the man’s death. As such, 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