News Release
No Charges Against OPP Officer in Man’s Self-Inflicted Death in St-Eugène
Case Number: 22-PCD-079
Other News Releases Related to Case 22-PCD-079
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the death of a 26-year-old man in St-Eugène.
In the early hours of March 14, 2022, police went to an apartment in response to 911 calls about a man harming himself. Officers, including a trained negotiator, attempted to contact the man – who had a knife-- without success. Officers forced their way into the man’s unit where he was found hanging. He was cut down and CPR was administered. Paramedics staged nearby took over care and transported the man to hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Director Martino found no reasonable grounds to believe that the subject official or the officers under her command conducted themselves other than within the bounds of the criminal law, leaving 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):
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