News Release
SIU Discontinues Investigation into Injury Suffered by Man in Hamilton
Case Number: 21-OCI-236
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the reported serious injury of a man during the course of an interaction with a Hamilton Police Services officer in June.
On July 30, 2021, the Hamilton Police Service contacted the SIU to report that they received a complaint from the Office of the Independent Police Review Director about an incident that occurred the month prior.
On June 11, 2021, the man called 911 due to an apparent overdose of his partner. Paramedics and police officers were dispatched. The man allegedly objected to police officers being in the home. In the course of pushing between the man and the officer, the man impacted a wall. As a result, the man was alleged to have suffered a broken right wrist. Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, the man was found to not have suffered a serious injury.
Director Martino concluded that the man did not suffer a serious injury in the terms of the SIU’s statutory mandate and the file has been closed as the SIU was without jurisdiction in this case.
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