News Release
Woman’s Injury not Caused by Police Officers; SIU Terminates Belleville Investigation
Case Number: 20-OCI-060
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the injury sustained last month by a 43-year-old woman in Belleville.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. on March 14, 2020, the woman was arrested for theft by a security guard outside of a grocery store located at 400 Dundas Street East. Belleville Police Service officers arrived at the scene, took the woman into custody and transported her to the police station. The woman was later taken to hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured left wrist.
Director Martino said, “Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, including a review of CCTV footage of the woman’s arrest by a security guard, it is apparent that the woman broke her wrist in the course of her interaction with the security guard. Accordingly, as there is patently nothing to investigate as far as the potential criminal liability of any police officer is concerned in connection with the woman’s injury, the SIU investigation is hereby discontinued, and the file is 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