News Release
SIU Determines Charges not Warranted in Relation to Man’s Arrest in St. Thomas
Case Number: 20-OCI-122
On the morning of May 24, 2020, the St. Thomas Police Service received a 911 call from a citizen reporting that he had just been threatened with a hatchet by a man. Officers were dispatched to the area and they observed the person of interest ride a bike into a wooded area. A perimeter was established and officers entered the wooded area along with a police service dog. The man was located. When he wouldn’t comply with demands to get on the ground, an officer ordered his dog to engage. The dog attacked the man, and the officers were able to apprehend him. 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 56-year-old man’s arrest and injuries that consisted of broken ribs.
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