News Release
SIU Terminates Sault Ste. Marie Investigation as No Serious Injury Sustained
Case Number: 18-OCI-374
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into the December 2018 arrest of a 38-year-old man in Sault Ste. Marie.
Around midnight on December 22, 2018, Sault Ste. Marie Police Service officers attended an apartment unit in the area of Lake Street and MacDonald Avenue for a domestic call. Soon after officers entered the unit, they became involved in an interaction with the man. The man was arrested, and then transported to hospital by Emergency Medical Services for a finger injury.
Director Loparco said, “The man did not suffer a serious injury. 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