The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has wrapped up its investigation of an incident that occurred on Oxford Street in Orillia and determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe that an arresting officer committed a criminal offence.
In the early afternoon of May 21, 2020, officers with the OPP’s Orillia Detachment were dispatched to investigate a domestic disturbance at one of the residential units located at an address on Oxford Street.
As officers pulled into the parking lot of the residential complex, the driver of a vehicle that was exiting the parking lot was asked to return to the lot.
In the lot, with their cars parked side by side, an officer got out of his vehicle to ask the occupants of the other vehicle if they had any information about the domestic disturbance.
As he did so, the officer observed a crack pipe on the floor in front of the front passenger seat. The crack pipe had burnt residue on the end of it.
After noticing the pipe, the occupants were asked to get out of their vehicle.
The passenger, a 30-year-old man, was advised that he was under arrest for possession of drugs and was instructed to get into the rear seat of his vehicle.
As the officer opened the rear door for the passenger, he “bolted from the scene running west into a courtyard of the residential complex,” notes the SIU report.
The foot pursuit lasted a matter of seconds. After running a very short distance, the passenger, being chased by two officers, tripped and fell on a raised curb.
He “regained his footing as the officers overshot him on the ground, and turned to run east. He made it no further than a few strides before another officer, present at the complex investigating the initial disturbance call, grabbed hold of him.”
While prone on the ground, the passenger refused to release his arms and was met with a “measure of force by the officers,” notes the SIU report.
After a few seconds of struggle, in which the officers wrestled to gain control of the suspect’s arms, his arms were brought behind his back and handcuffed.
“No punches, kicks or strikes of any kind appear to have been delivered by the officers,” says the report.
While in a jail cell, the man complained of pain in one of his shoulders and was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured scapula.
Aftering its investigation and seeing footage from the officer’s non-police issued, personal body-worn camera, the SIU concluded: "There appear to have been lawful grounds for the arrest in question,” notes the report.
The initial vehicle stop was deemed lawful as the officer did “not appear to have had ulterior motives for the stop beyond speaking with the vehicle’s occupants about the domestic disturbance reported at the residential complex.”
The report concludes “there is nothing to suggest that the forced used by the officers was excessive or unreasonable.”
In terms of the injury, “there are no grounds to believe that any of the involved officers acted other than lawfully throughout the engagement. Accordingly, there is no basis for proceeding with charges in this case.”
ABOUT THE SIU
The SIU is an independent civilian 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.
