News Release
No Charges Against Hamilton Police Officer After Man’s Head Injury During Arrest
Case Number: 21-OCI-285
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the male’s arrest and subsequent admission to hospital.
Hamilton Police officers were dispatched to a home in the area of Mohawk Road and McNiven Road. They had been sent following a 911 call from the residence complaining that a man under the influence of drugs was trying to break into the home.
During a confrontation, an officer deployed his Conducted Energy Weapon at the man – resulting in his body locking up and him falling face first onto the front lawn of the home. The man was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and subsequently diagnosed with head injury.
Director Martino concluded that the force used by the officers was legally justified as the man also threatened to do harm to the officer and himself at the time the CEW was discharged. Accordingly, 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
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SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES