News Release
SIU Terminates Windsor Investigation
Case Number: 19-OCI-008
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into a serious injury sustained by a 47-year-old man in Windsor in January of 2019.
Shortly after midnight on Sunday, January 6, 2019, Windsor Police Service (WPS) officers and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) attended the area of Parent Avenue and Wyandotte Street after receiving a call about a man who was seen lying on a sidewalk apparently unconscious. As the man was assessed as being very intoxicated, he was given the option of attending the hospital with EMS or the cells. When the man chose the WPS cells, he was arrested for being intoxicated in a public place and transported in a prisoner van. As the man exited the prisoner van, his right ankle turned inward and he stumbled. Several hours later upon his release, the man complained of pain to his right leg and he was transported to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured and dislocated right ankle.
Director Loparco said, “The video evidence shows that the injury resulted from the man badly rolling his ankle as he exited the police transport van in the sally port area and had nothing to do with police conduct or omission. 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