News Release
SIU Terminates Kingston Investigation
Case Number: 20-OCI-222
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the September apprehension of a 39-year-old man in Kingston.
In the late afternoon hours of September 3, 2020, Kingston Police officers were dispatched to Princess Street between Division Street and Barrie Street following 911 calls from citizens reporting a male acting erratically in the area. More specifically, it was reported that the man was jumping onto moving vehicles and had struck the back of his head on the roadway asphalt. The arriving officers handcuffed the man without incident. He was then transferred into an ambulance and sent to hospital where he was placed in a medically induced coma.
Director Martino said, “Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, which included a review of police records and CCTV video footage that captured part of the events in question, I am satisfied that the SIU presently lacks statutory jurisdiction to continue with its investigation. Information gleaned from the hospital indicates that the man was placed in a medically induced coma to address his state of psychosis brought on by the ingestion of narcotics. In the circumstances, the investigation is hereby discontinued and the file is 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