News Release
No Charges Against London Police Officer After Woman Seriously Injured in Cruiser Crash
Case Number: 21-OVI-276
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a London Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the broken ribs suffered by a 62-year-old woman, who was a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by a cruiser last August.
On August 28, 2021, the officer was driving to the scene of a weapons call when he drove past a stop sign at Quebec Street and collided with a Ford Focus. The female passenger of the Focus suffered multiple right-sided rib fractures.
Director Martino concluded that while the officer was responsible for the collision and the injuries suffered by the woman, there were no reasonable grounds to believe that he transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law. The file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):
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