News Release
SIU Discontinues Burlington Investigation; Woman Did Not Suffer Serious Injury While in Halton Officers’ Custody
Case Number: 22-OCI-015
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into a serious injury reportedly suffered by a 34-year-old woman while in the custody of Halton Regional Police Service officers in Burlington in 2020. The SIU launched an investigation after it was reported to the Unit in January 2022.
On April 29, 2020, officers were called to a store on Appleby Line in Burlington as the woman was causing a disturbance and refused to leave. Following a struggle, officers arrested the woman under the Mental Health Act and took her to hospital for examination. While waiting in the ambulance bay of the hospital, the woman was reportedly involved in another physical altercation with an officer. Several days later, the woman blacked-out while driving a vehicle and became involved in a collision. She again attended hospital to be examined.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, which included a review of medical records, Director Martino concluded that the woman was not diagnosed with a concussion or any serious injury. With the SIU being without jurisdiction to investigate, the file has been closed. The matter has been referred to Halton Regional Police Service for further investigation as they deem appropriate.
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