News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation in Port Dover
Case Number: 05-PCI-115
The SIU investigation revealed that on that date, a 12-year-old youth who was a ward of the Children Aid Society, was participating in a supervised day trip to Port Dover when he went missing at about 11:15 a.m. The police were called and officers from the Norfolk detachment initiated a search for him.
At about 1:00 p.m., an officer patrolling on a police mountain bike found the boy on Lynn Valley trail. The officer pursued him on his bike and then on foot. The boy ran into the backyard of a home on Lynn Valley Road and stumbled on a slight incline just as the officer grabbed him by the shoulder. They both fell down the incline, resulting in the young boy breaking his leg.
Director Cornish stated, "Unfortunately the officer fell on top of the child and the child, whose leg had just entered a hole in the sod, suffered a broken leg. The officer took immediate and appropriate steps to both calm the child and ensure that emergency medical assistance was obtained. The officer's continued and sincere concern for this young boy was obvious throughout the course of our investigation."
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