SIU clears three Durham police officers of any wrongdoing

The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) recently cleared DRPS officers of any wrongdoing in three investigations.

On August 14, 2010 officers responded to a call regarding an impaired man who was walking around a north Whitby neighborhood wielding a bat. Responding officers confronted the male and eventually subdued him. Officers gained control of the male for his own safety after he was observed ingesting an unknown substance. Shortly after, the male went into cardiac arrest and all attempts to save him failed. The SIU ruled the officers were not responsible for the death given the medical opinion of the cause of death.

On October 24, 2010 officers executed a search warrant on the fifth floor of an apartment building on Gibb Street in Oshawa and two of the six people inside attempted to escape. An 18-year-old Oshawa man attempted to climb from the fifth floor balcony to a fourth floor balcony to evade police. He fell five stories to the ground and received non-life threatening injuries. The SIU ruled the officers had no direct involvement in the man’s decision to climb over the balcony.

On November 16, 2010, officers were called to an apartment on Falby Court in Ajax for a domestic assault incident. A 46-year-old Ajax man allegedly assaulted a 41-year-old Toronto woman known to him. Officers encountered the man on the balcony and he began stabbing himself. A conductive energy weapon was successfully deployed, preventing further injury or death. The male was taken to hospital and later released back into custody. The SIU ruled the case was closed and no criminal offence took place.