News Release
Man’s Injuries a Result of Fall from Apartment Window During Attempt to Escape Apprehension; SIU Terminates Mississauga Investigation
Case Number: 20-OCI-321
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the serious injuries sustained last month by a 26-year-old man in Mississauga.
On the morning of November 22, 2020, several Peel Regional Police officers attended the fourth-floor unit of an apartment building on Bloor Street East in Mississauga with the intention of arresting a man for dangerous driving. The man spoke with the officers and was told he could either step into the hallway and be arrested, or that a warrant would be obtained authorizing the police officers’ entry into the apartment to arrest him. The man indicated he would seek advice from his lawyer and closed the door on the officers. About an hour later, with officers still gathered outside the front door and positioned on the ground below with a view to his balcony, the man fell from his fourth-floor bedroom window. He had fashioned a makeshift rope with bedlinens and had used them in an attempt to scale down the building and escape apprehension. The man was transported to hospital where he reportedly was diagnosed and treated for back fractures.
Director Martino said, “Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, I am satisfied that there is patently nothing to investigate as far as the potential criminal lability of any police officer is concerned in connection with the man’s injuries. On the aforementioned record, it is plain and obvious that none of the involved officers contributed to the man’s injuries in any fashion that could attract criminal sanction. At the time the man fell from the window, no officer was present in the apartment. The man alone is responsible for his injuries. 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