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The director of the province’s Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the injuries suffered by a 40-year-old man who was housed in a cell at the Témiscamingue detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police in July.

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According to the report, On the morning of July 5, 2024, after being arrested the day before, the man found himself in a cell of the Témiscamingue Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police. The report goes on to say that he was mentally ill at the time and began self-harming in the cell. The man fell backwards so that his head hit the concrete cell bench on the way down.

The report adds that officers attempted to enter the cell to render assistance, but were prevented for a time by the man holding the door closed. Eventually, through the use of a conducted energy weapon, officers were able to gain entry and remove the man from the cell. Paramedics at the scene took him to hospital, where he was treated for cuts to his head.

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Based on the SIU’s preliminary investigations, including review of video footage that largely captured the incident, Director Martino was convinced that the investigation should be dropped. Based on this file, it appears that the man’s guards did nothing that would result in criminal sanctions related to his injuries. The file has been closed.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables from the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers from the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in the death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or shooting 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:

• determine whether the official committed a criminal offense in relation to the incident under investigation

• depending on the evidence, bring a criminal charge against the official if there are grounds to do so, or close the file without any charges being laid

• make the results of its investigations public

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