News Release
No Charges to Issue in Relation to Lake Nipissing Drowning Death; Officers went Above and Beyond in Attempt to Save Man’s Life
Case Number: 19-OOD-240
Other News Releases Related to Case 19-OOD-240
SIU Investigating After Man Enters Lake Nipissing and Goes Missing
On the evening of October 1, 2019, the North Bay Fire Service was dispatched to a reported car fire. Upon arriving at the scene, firefighters were informed that the driver of the car had gone towards Lake Nipissing. The firefighters went in that direction, and observed a man more than 100 metres from the shore. Emergency Medical Services and North Bay Police Service officers arrived, and along with the firefighters, tried to convince the man to come out of the water. Shortly after, the man disappeared below the water’s surface and did not reappear. Attempts were made to search for the man, but to no avail. His body was recovered the following day by an OPP underwater search and recovery team. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined that the officers went above and beyond what was required in the line of duty to save the man’s life, and as such, there are no reasonable grounds to proceed with criminal charges.
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