News Release
Man’s Injury Not Caused by Police; SIU Terminates Bayham Township Investigation
Case Number: 18-PCI-299
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated the investigation into an interaction that occurred last year between an Ontario Provincial Police officer and a 35-year-old man in Bayham Township.
At approximately 11:00p.m. on Friday, October 5, 2018, the man was driving a pickup truck with three passengers along Richmond Road in Bayham Township when he lost control of the truck and collided with a tree. The man exited the vehicle and fled the scene on foot, but was located by a responding OPP officer a short distance away. He was arrested and transported to hospital for treatment where he was diagnosed with a fracture to his left arm.
Director Loparco said, “The evidence clearly establishes that the man’s injury was sustained prior to any interaction with police. 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