SIU Terminates Investigation into Injury of Man while in OPP Hawkesbury Detachment Cell
Case Number: 17-PCI-237
Mississauga, ON (10 October, 2017) — The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into a serious injury sustained by a 56-year-old man in August of 2017 in Hawkesbury.
On August 30, 2017, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers attended a residence to deal with an incident of a domestic nature. The officers arrested a man and transported him to the Hawkesbury OPP detachment where he was lodged in a cell. While in the cell, the man moved forward quickly and struck the wall hard with his head. Shortly after, he ran head first into the cell door bars. This strike caused the man to fall on his back, resulting in his head hitting the concrete floor. He was transported to hospital for treatment.
Director Loparco said, “The evidence collected in the course of the SIU’s initial inquiries established that the man’s injury was self-inflicted. As such, this incident does not fall within the mandate of the SIU and therefore this investigation has been terminated.”
ORIGINAL RELEASE
Mississauga, ON (31 August, 2017) —The province’s Special Investigations Unit is examining the circumstances surrounding an incident inside the Hawkesbury Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police, after which a 56-year-old man was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
Preliminary information suggests the following occurred:
- On August 30, 2017, just before midnight, OPP officers were called to a residence in the Main Street East and Tupper Street area.
- At the residence, a 56-year-old man was arrested.
- Around 12:30 a.m. on August 31, 2017, the man was lodged in a cell at the OPP Hawkesbury Detachment.
- Just before 1:30 a.m., the man suffered serious injuries.
- He was transported to Hawkesbury and District General Hospital and then taken to an Ottawa area hospital where he is listed in serious condition.
Two investigators and one forensic investigator have been assigned to examine the circumstances of the incident.
The SIU is appealing to anyone who may have information about this investigation to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529.