News Release
SIU Terminates Investigation in Napanee
Case Number: 05-PVI-118
The SIU deployed four investigators to Napanee to investigate the circumstances surrounding a 22-year-old man's injury. Preliminary information from the investigation indicates that at approximately 6:00 a.m., officers observed a man in a Pontiac Sunfire car driving in a strange manner. Officers attempted to stop the car by setting up a roadblock and spike belts. The man was traveling southbound on River Road (County Road #9) when he struck a police cruiser, rolled the car into a ditch and struck a tree.
The man was taken to hospital for treatment. Medical tests concluded he suffered no serious injury.
Based on the evidence gathered to date, the Director of the SIU, James Cornish, has decided to terminate the investigation because of the absence of serious injury.
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