News Release
No Charges to Issue in Relation to Sarnia Police Pursuit
Case Number: 20-OVI-244
On October 1, 2020, a 56-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man were injured in a motor vehicle collision in Sarnia. As their vehicle was being pursued by two Sarnia Police Service cruisers at the time, the SIU was notified and commenced an investigation. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer who was operating the lead cruiser in the pursuit committed a criminal offence in connection with the collision.
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