News Release
No Charges Against OPP Officer After Man Suffers Fractured Ankle During Arrest in Adjala-Tosorontio Township
Case Number: 21-PCI-327
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the ankle fracture suffered by a 37-year-old man in the course of his arrest last September.
In the evening of September 29, 2021, an officer responded to a call at a Lisle residence for concerns about the man attempting to drive while impaired. The officer arrested the man for breach of the peace after he became belligerent and aggressive. The officer took hold of the man’s right arm and the man collapsed as the officer turned him to handcuff his arms behind his back. Paramedics took the man to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured left ankle.
Director Martino concluded that the man lost his footing on the gravel and dirt driveway as he was being turned, fracturing his left ankle as he fell. 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=1791
This news release has been edited to clarify the location of the incident to: Adjala-Tosorontio Township (January 28, 2022).
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