News Release
SIU Terminates Brantford Investigation as Man’s Injury Not Caused by Police
Case Number: 18-OCI-293
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into an incident that occurred last month in Brantford.
On September 30, 2018, Brantford Police Service officers attended a hotel in the area of Colborne Street and Stanley Street in relation to a warrant for the arrest of a 39-year-old man. The man cooperated with police, and he was handcuffed. The man was taken to the police station and placed in a cell. The following day, the man was taken to hospital due to feeling pain in his left shoulder. This same shoulder had been injured previously.
Director Loparco said, “The evidence establishes that the police did not cause the man’s injury. 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