News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Guelph Officer After Man Seriously Injured During Arrest
Case Number: 22-OCI-085
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Guelph Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with a fractured rib suffered by a 28-year-old man in the course of his arrest in March.
On March 18, 2022, the man ran out of gas while travelling northbound on Highway 6, south of Marden Road. A police officer, and his partner, travelling in a marked police pickup truck, saw the car and ran a check on the licence plate, learning that the registered owner, the man, was a prohibited driver. The officers conducted a traffic stop when the man attempted to flee northbound on Highway 6. He turned left on Marden Road and pulled over, exiting the car. The officers stopped and confronted the man, struggling to put his arms behind his back. The subject official put his left knee on the man’s back while he was on the ground in a prone position and handcuffed the man. After his arrest, the man was taken to the station. Subsequently, he was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with the serious injury.
While Director Martino accepted that the man’s serious injury resulted from the force used by the officer, he found no reasonable grounds to believe the officer comported himself other than lawfully. 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