News Release
SIU Determines Strike to Man’s Wrist with Baton was Reasonably Necessary; No Charges to Issue in Kanata Case
Case Number: 18-OCI-128
On April 24, 2018, a man sustained a fracture to his wrist in the course of his apprehension and arrest after breaking into a garage in Kanata. While Interim Director Joseph Martino believed the man was injured when he was struck with a police baton, this did not constitute a criminal offence. As such, Interim Director Martino has determined there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against an Ottawa Police Service officer.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.
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