News Release
Man’s Death in Kingston Attributed to Drug Overdose; No Charges to Issue
Case Number: 19-OCD-169
Other News Releases Related to Case 19-OCD-169
On July 23, 2019, Kingston Police officers attended a local restaurant to assist paramedics by apprehending a 52-year-old man. Following a struggle, the officers were eventually able to gain control of the man who was then transported to hospital by paramedics. At the hospital, the man later stopped breathing and passed away. The pathologist at autopsy attributed the cause of the man’s death to sudden cardiorespiratory arrest due to methamphetamine, fentanyl and carfentanil toxicity. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe that any officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s death.
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