News Release
SIU Terminates Investigation into Arrest Inside Brampton Motel Room
Case Number: 19-OCI-007
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into the arrest last month of a 29-year-old man in Brampton.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. on January 4, 2019, Peel Regional Police officers entered a Brampton motel room in the area of Queen Street East and Kennedy Road North to execute a search warrant. The subject of the warrant resisted arrest and a conducted energy weapon was deployed. The man was arrested and then transported to hospital for treatment.
Numerous efforts were made by investigators to locate the man. Investigators attended the hospital, made numerous calls to his cell phone and left messages, went back to the hotel multiple times and tried to get in touch with the man through a friend of his. These attempts were to no avail.
Director Loparco said, “The man refused to participate in the SIU investigation, thereby denying the SIU access to information that may have enhanced the investigation. Moreover, because the SIU did not have authorization to obtain the man’s medical records, the Unit was unable to confirm the purported 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