The province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has determined Barrie police were not at fault for a male prisoner's overdose, which led to a serious injury, while in custody last month.
On Dec. 2, 2020, the 44-year-old Barrie man was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police following a drug raid at a local motel.
The SIU says the man was taken into custody and released to the Barrie Police Service, which had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Before being lodged in a Barrie police cell, the prisoner was searched, leading to the discovery and seizure of cocaine and fentanyl.
"While in (Barrie police) cells, and unbeknownst to police, the man retrieved an additional quantity of fentanyl from his person and ingested it," SIU director Joseph Martino said in his final report, which was released Thursday.
Shortly thereafter, the man was transferred to the OPP in Bracebridge. When the man began to appear unwell, he was taken to hospital where he was treated for a drug overdose, according to the SIU.
“Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, it is evident at this time that there is patently nothing to investigate as far as the potential criminal liability of any police officer is concerned in connection with the man’s overdose," said Martino, who added there's no credible suggestion of any criminal negligence on the part of police regarding the man's ingestion of fentanyl.
"The drugs appear to have been secreted within or on the man’s person and undiscoverable, except perhaps via a strip or body cavity search, the grounds for which may not have existed, and the man’s time in (Barrie police) custody was very short, lasting no more than about an hour before he was transferred to the OPP," Martino said.
While in OPP custody in Bracebridge, Martino says police had no reason to believe that the man had ingested a "significant" quantity of fentanyl until he began to appear unwell, "at which point the evidence indicates they acted quickly to take him to hospital."
The man was treated and recovered from his overdose.
"On this record, I am satisfied that the man is alone responsible for his drug overdose," Martino said. "Accordingly, the SIU investigation is hereby discontinued and the file is closed.”
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.
