News Release
No Basis to Proceed with Charges in Relation to Bracebridge Arrest
Case Number: 20-PCI-198
On June 23, 2020, a 56-year-old man was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police officers in Bracebridge. Several weeks later, the man was diagnosed with multiple un-displaced or minimally displaced rib fractures. As the injuries were not new at the time they were diagnosed, there was evidence to suggest that they were the result of the force inflicted on the man in the course of his arrest weeks earlier. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe that any police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s injuries.
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