News Release
Man’s Death at Elliot Lake Probation and Parole Office was Self-Inflicted; No Charges to Issue Against any OPP Officer
Case Number: 20-PCD-092
Other News Releases Related to Case 20-PCD-092
On the morning of April 20, 2020, a 49-year-old man attended the Elliot Lake Probation and Parole Office for a scheduled meeting. A few minutes later, two Ontario Provincial Police officers arrived at the office to arrest the man for having breached a condition of a prohibition order. At news that the officers were there to arrest him, the man became agitated and asked that the officers not enter the room he was in. Shortly thereafter, the man shot himself with a handgun he had retrieved from his waistband. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined the man was alone responsible for his self-inflicted death, and thus there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case against any police officer.
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