News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into OPP Officers’ ARWEN Discharges at Man in Penetanguishene
Case Number: 22-PFP-151
Other News Releases Related to Case 22-PFP-151
SIU Investigating After Police Officers Discharge ARWENs in Penetanguishene
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that two Ontario Provincial Police officers committed a criminal offence in connection with shooting Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN) weapons at a 28-year-old man in Penetanguishene.
On June 11, 2022, officers were called to a residence for a man in distress and attempted to take him into custody. The man barricaded himself in the home. During the course of multiple interactions, the man was struck by ARWEN rounds. The man was arrested and taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured arm.
While Director Martino accepted that the fractured arm was incurred at some point in his interaction with the police, whether the result of his fall down the stairs or being struck by one or more ARWEN rounds, or some combination of the two, he was not satisfied that it is attributable to any unlawful conduct on the part of the involved officers. Accordingly, 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://siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=2150
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