News Release
SIU Discontinues Wasaga Beach Investigation
Case Number: 20-PCI-212
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into an incident that occurred in Wasaga Beach in August.
On the morning of August 27, 2020, a 21-year-old woman was arrested uneventfully by Ontario Provincial Police officers for a number of offences. Her time in police cells at the Wasaga Beach detachment was also uneventful until about 7:10 p.m. when she began to experience discomfort. An ambulance was called and paramedics arrived at the station. The woman was six months pregnant at the time. Concerned that she may have gone into premature labour, she was taken to hospital.
The woman was later discharged from hospital without any abnormalities having been diagnosed in respect of her ongoing pregnancy.
Director Martino said, “It is apparent on the aforementioned-record that the woman did not suffer any serious injury while in police custody on August 27, 2020. Accordingly, the SIU is without jurisdiction to continue with its investigation and the file is hereby closed.”
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