News Release
No Basis to Lay Charges in Relation to Injuries Sustained by Man in St. Catharines When a Police Service Dog Bit Him
Case Number: 18-OCI-217
On July 21, 2018, a 27-year-old man suffered injuries in the course of his arrest by Niagara Regional Police Service officers when a police service dog bit him in the face and neck area. The Interim Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against the dog’s handler in relation to the serious injuries sustained by the man.
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