News Release
No Charges Against St. Thomas Police Officer in Relation to Man’s Drug Overdose
Case Number: 21-OCI-414
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a St. Thomas Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with a 29-year-old man who fell ill and was hospitalized while in custody last December.
In the morning of December 9, 2021, the man was arrested for driving while impaired by drugs. While in custody, the man fell into medical distress. An ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital.
Director Martino found no reasonable grounds to believe that any of the involved officers transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law. 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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES