News Release
SIU Discontinues Investigation into Serious Injury Reportedly Suffered by Woman During Arrest in London
Case Number: 21-OCI-408
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into an incident early this month in London.
On the evening of December 2, 2021, The London Police Service was alerted that a 26-year-old woman was threatening self-harm. When LPS officers arrived at the apartment, they found the woman with cuts to her arms and said she had tried to kill herself. An ambulance arrived and the woman was apprehended under the authority of the Mental Health Act (MHA) and taken to hospital for examination. She was later released by a doctor and reported bruising to her right hip. She later filed a complaint of excessive force and claimed she suffered a fracture to the hip and received a concussion as a result of the apprehension.
A review of the medical records showed the woman had no threshold injuries. Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, Director Martino concluded that the woman did not suffer a “serious injury” within the terms of the SIU’s mandate. Accordingly, the SIU is without statutory jurisdiction to continue the investigation, and the file is closed.
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