News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Man’s Arrest and Injury in Hamilton
Case Number: 22-OCI-182
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Hamilton Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the arrest and injury of a 34-year-old man in July.
In the early morning of July 14, 2022, the officer attempted to arrest the man for possession of a stolen vehicle in the area of Kinrade Avenue and Barton Street East. The man attempted to flee and tripped, fracturing his right clavicle. The officer handcuffed the man and took him to hospital.
Director Martino concluded that the man lost his footing trying to escape apprehension through no fault of the officer, leaving no grounds to believe that the officer comported himself other than lawfully. As such, 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):
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