News Release
Man Seriously Injured Himself While Trespassing in Abandoned St. Thomas Building; SIU Closes Investigation
Case Number: 21-OCI-378
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the serious injury suffered by a 41-year-old man in the presence of St. Thomas Police Service (STPS) officers last month.
On November 4, 2021, STPS officers were called to an abandoned Hydro One building on Beck Line after the security system detected the presence of someone inside the building. Several officers eventually located a man hiding in the rafters. The man refused to surrender. While travelling across a steel beam, the man lost his balance and fell about five metres to the ceiling deck below. As a result, he broke his right arm.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, which included a review of body-worn camera footage that captured the incident, Director Martino concluded that the man alone was to blame for his injury. The file has been 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
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES