News Release
No Criminal Charges Warranted in Relation to Elgin County Arrest
Case Number: 19-PCI-244
In the early morning hours of October 7, 2019, Ontario Provincial Police officers were dispatched to a hemp farm located in Elgin County. There had been a break, enter and theft at the farm, with ten to twelve individuals fleeing into the adjoining fields. A 25-year-old man was located in the field and arrested. He was later taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with having sustained two non-displaced fractures. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined that none of the involved officers committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s injury.
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