News Release
No Charges to Issue Against Officer in Relation to Brantford Collision
Case Number: 21-OVI-427
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Brantford Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with a December 2021 collision that resulted in injuries to three individuals.
On the evening of December 28, 2021, the officer pulled over a Lexus after observing that the vehicle had been traveling without its headlights or rear lights activated. While the officer was running a check on the licence plate, the vehicle began to accelerate away. About half-a-kilometre away, in the intersection of Grey Street and Wayne Gretzky Parkway, the Lexus struck a Volkswagen. A 53-year-old woman and a 55-year-old woman from the Lexus, and a 35-year-old man from the Volkswagen, suffered fractures.
As Director Martino was not satisfied that the officer transgressed the limits of care in his engagement with the Lexus, he concluded there were no grounds for proceeding with charges against the officer. The file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.
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