News Release
No Charges Against Peel Regional Police Officer in Case of Woman Seriously Injured During Arrest
Case Number: 21-OCI-190
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Peel Regional Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with a 32-year-old woman’s arrest and serious injuries last June in Mississauga.
In the afternoon of June 9, 2021, two Peel Regional Police officers assisted a dog left in a minivan outside a restaurant on Courtneypark Drive East. When the woman exited the eatery and saw the two officers, whom she initially did not initially recognize as police officers, she reacted angrily. The woman struck one of the officers in the chest before she was taken to the ground and handcuffed.
Paramedics attended, but she refused treatment. She was released from police custody at the scene. The woman returned home and was taken to hospital by paramedics where she was diagnosed with fractures to her left foot and right knee.
While Director Martino accepted that the woman’s injuries were the result of the takedown by police, he was not satisfied that the officer comported himself unlawfully in the interaction. Accordingly, the file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=1607
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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES