News Release
No Charges to Issue in Relation to Flesherton Arrest of Man Following Collision
Case Number: 20-PCI-255
On October 5, 2020, a 30-year-old man was an occupant of a vehicle that had been involved in a collision. Realizing that police would soon be at the scene, and aware of outstanding warrants for his arrest, the man fled into a wooded area. Officers soon located the man and arrested him. He was later diagnosed with a fractured left foot. While it remains unclear whether the injury was aggravated by police in the course of his arrest, the Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, is unable to reasonably conclude that any of the arresting officers acted other than lawfully in their dealings with the man.
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