News Release
No Charges to Issue for Officer’s Use of Police Service Dog in Mississauga Arrest
Case Number: 19-OCI-171
On the night of July 24, 2019, Peel Regional Police officers engaged in a pursuit of a pickup truck which was reportedly involved in several break and enters and thefts. Sometime after the pursuit was terminated, that same pickup truck was found to have been involved in a collision. Two people from the truck were located at the scene, and after a search, two other individuals from the vehicle were located hiding in the backyard of a Mississauga residence. A police service dog entered the area and gripped one of the individuals – an 18-year-old female – causing a serious injury that required treatment at hospital. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined the arrest was lawful and that there are no reasonable grounds to believe the K-9 officer was criminally negligent in his use of the dog.
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