News Release
SIU Terminates Belleville Investigation; Man Injured Hand after Punching Wall Multiple Times
Case Number: 22-OCI-072
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the serious injury suffered by a 24-year-old man last month while he was lodged in a cell in Belleville.
On March 8, 2022, Belleville Police Service (BPS) officers arrested the man without incident in his home. He was taken to the BPS station and lodged in a cell. While in the cell, the man punched the cell wall multiple times. As a result of the man informing the guards his hand was injured, paramedics attended. The man was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured metacarpal bone in his right hand and a broken right wrist.
Based on preliminary inquiries, which included a review of video recordings taken of the man’s time in custody, Director Martino concluded that the man alone was to blame for his fractured hand. As there was patently nothing to investigate as far as the potential criminal liability of any police officer was concerned in connection with the man’s 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
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Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES