News Release
Police had Nothing to do with Woman’s Injury; SIU Discontinues Barrie Investigation
Case Number: 23-OCI-113
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the serious injury suffered by a 46-year-old woman in April in Barrie.
In the morning of April 16, 2023, the woman consumed an overdose of her medication. She later attended a residence and confronted an individual with a knife. One of her sons subsequently drove the woman to his home a short distance away before the arrival of police officers. Deciding to leave the home, the woman exited onto the backyard and hopped the fence that lined the rear of the property, fracturing her left foot in the process. Police officers located the woman and took her into custody, after which she was taken to hospital and her injury diagnosed.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, Director Martino was satisfied that the investigation should be discontinued. On this record, it was apparent that the police had nothing to do with the woman’s injury. As such, the SIU was without statutory jurisdiction to investigate the incident. The file has been closed.
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.
Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES