News Release
No Charges to Issue in Relation to Death of Man in Newmarket
Case Number: 20-OCD-216
Other News Releases Related to Case 20-OCD-216
The YRP advised that on August 30, 2020, at 7:02 p.m., they received a 911 call regarding a man causing a disturbance at the No Frills store located on the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Davis Street in Newmarket. By the time of the officers’ arrival, the man had climbed onto the roof of the No Frills store and threatened to harm himself and harm the police officers. The perimeter was contained, and more police officers arrived.
At 7:06 p.m., the man jumped from the roof by doing a “back flip” and fell to the ground. He was motionless and was subsequently taken to Southlake Regional Hospital Centre in Newmarket where he was pronounced dead. As he had been interacting with two YRP officers at the time, the SIU was notified of the incident and commenced an investigation.
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, said that there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case, and the file is closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid
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