News Release
No Charges Against OPP Officers After Man Suffers Broken Orbital Bone in Course of Arrest in Tiny Township
Case Number: 21-PCI-385
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that Ontario Provincial Police officers committed a criminal offence in connection with a broken left orbital bone suffered by a 25-year-old man during his arrest in Tiny Township last November.
In the early hours of November 10, 2021, the man reportedly assaulted his grandfather as well as the officers who attempted to arrest him. Officers used Conducted Energy Weapons and struck the man with a baton in the course of arresting the man, who vigorously resisted being handcuffed.
While Director Martino accepted that the man’s serious injury resulted from during altercations with officers during his arrest, he found no reasonable grounds to believe that the injury was due to unlawful conduct by the officers involved.
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