News Release
SIU Discontinues Investigation into Woman’s Injury Suffered While Fleeing Barrie Police
Case Number: 23-OCI-096
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into a broken jaw and pelvis suffered by a 22-year-old woman who dropped from a second-floor window to evade Barrie Police Service officers in March.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, including a review of video footage that captured the events in part, on March 26, 2023, officers responded to a call about a domestic disturbance at an apartment on Burns Circle. The woman was with her estranged boyfriend in his residence in violation of a non-association order. On hearing police were there, she escaped out the second-floor – suffering several fractures in the process. She was eventually located by a police dog. On this record, it was evident that the police did nothing that could conceivably attract criminal sanction in connection with the woman’s serious injuries. As such, the SIU was without statutory jurisdiction to investigate.
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
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Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES