News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Woman’s Knee Fracture in Elizabethtown-Kitley Township
Case Number: 24-PCI-215
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 the serious injury of a 29-year-old woman in eastern Ontario.
On May 21, 2024, officers were called a residence in Elizabethtown-Kitley Township after the woman reportedly assaulted her boyfriend. Officers attempted to arrest the woman, attempting to wrestle the woman’s arms behind her back and pushing her forward to lay flat on the ground. Director Martino concluded that neither of these tactics, made clear from the body worn camera footage, were done with excessive force.
While Director Martino accepted that the woman’s knee was fractured in her physical engagement with the officers, the likely result of the forward push, he was not able to reasonably accept that the force used was anything other than legally justified.
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.
Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES