News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into OPP Officer After Woman Injured in Trenton Arrest
Case Number: 24-PCI-089
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, found no reasonable grounds to believe an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with a broken right shoulder suffered by a 40-year-old woman in Trenton.
On February 27, 2024, the officer was sent to an area behind Royal Bank in downtown Trenton to arrest the woman for outstanding arrest warrants. The woman fled. The officer caught up to her, and pushed her to the ground. The woman was handcuffed and taken to hospital.
Director Martino found that while on the ground, the woman refused to surrender her arms despite the officer’s repeated requests, and she struggled against the officer’s efforts as he wrestled her arms behind the back. The injury, in his view, was the unfortunate result of countervailing forces being brought to bear on the Complainant’s right arm, not any excessive force applied by the officer.
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