Mississauga, ON – The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into how a 47-year-old man sustained a serious injury last month in Sault Ste. Marie.
A preliminary investigation found the following:
- At approximately 10 p.m. on Friday, August 18, 2017, Sault Ste. Marie Police Service officers responded to the area of Queen Street West and James Street for a report of a man who was swinging rakes and sticks and damaging property.
- Upon police displaying a conducted energy weapon (CEW), the man dropped the rake and police were able to ground and arrest the man. The CEW was not deployed.
- The man later went to hospital where he was diagnosed with a back injury, and he reported this to police.
Director Loparco said, “I have terminated the investigation into this incident as the man’s injury occurred during a disturbance with another civilian, prior to his contact with the police.”
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. Under the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether an officer has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, lay a criminal charge against the officer if appropriate or close the file without any charges being laid
- report the results of any investigations to the Attorney General.
