News Release
No Charges Against Waterloo Officer in Connection with Man’s Fatal Fall from Apartment Window
Case Number: 22-OCD-006
Other News Releases Related to Case 22-OCD-006
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the death of a 27-year-old man in January.
In the early morning hours of January 11, 2022, WRPS officers attended an apartment building in Waterloo to check on the welfare of the man following reports from his former girlfriend that he was threatening suicide. While officers were outside the apartment unit door, they heard glass breaking from inside the apartment. The man had used a dumbbell to break open the living room window. Shortly after, the man jumped through the opening, falling to the ground below. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Director Martino was satisfied that the conduct of an attending officer fell short of constituting a marked and substantial departure from a reasonable standard of care. Accordingly, he determined there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. 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