News Release
No Basis for Criminal Charges in Relation to Arrest of Man Inside Ottawa Police Service headquarters
Case Number: 19-OCI-235
On September 23, 2019, a 21-year-old man walked into the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) headquarters and said he wanted to confess a murder. The man was interviewed by an OPS officer, who realized the man’s story was fictitious. When the officer asked the man to leave, the man refused. A physical struggle ensued and the man was subsequently arrested. The man was later transported to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fracture of his right orbital bone. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s arrest and 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