News Release
No Criminal Charges Warranted Against Durham Officers who Deployed Stop Stick and Pursued Vehicle Being Driven by Teenager
Case Number: 20-OVI-262
On October 8, 2020, a 15-year-old male broke his nose in a motor vehicle collision. Because he was being pursued at the time by a Durham Regional Police Service officer, the SIU was notified by the police service and initiated an investigation. The driver of the cruiser who had pursued the teenager and the officer who had laid out a stop stick in and around the area of the collision were identified as subject officers for purposes of the SIU investigation. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the youth’s injury.
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