News Release
Man’s Injury in Kitchener Police Station Cell was Self-inflicted; SIU Closes File
Case Number: 19-OCI-122
The Interim Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the serious injury sustained earlier this month by a man while he was lodged in a Waterloo Regional Police Service cell.
On June 5, 2019, the man was lodged in a WRPS police station cell in Kitchener. Shortly after midnight, he punched the Plexiglas door with his right hand many times. His hand was checked and found to be swollen. The man was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with having a fracture to the fifth metacarpal (pinky) on his right hand.
Interim Director Martino said, “A cell video recording depicts the man punching the cell door upwards of 60 times with the outside of his right hand within a span of about five minutes. As it seems obvious based on the video recording that the man’s injury was self-inflicted and that he alone is to blame for it, the SIU’s investigation is hereby discontinued and the file closed.”
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