Ontario's law-enforcement oversight agency will not recommend criminal charges against a Windsor police officer involved in a crash last year.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was called in to investigate the collision, which took place March 14, 2020 at Tecumseh Road East near Roseville Gardens Drive. Since the crash involved a police vehicle, the SIU invoked its mandate.
According to the report, the officer was headed to a domestic violence call when he crashed into another vehicle. The 78-year-old male driver of the other vehicle, identified in the report as the complainant, was treated at the Windsor Regional Hospital Ouellette Campus for three broken ribs.
After interviewing the complainant, civilian witnesses, and police witnesses, it was determined that the crash was avoidable, but there was no basis for criminal charges. The officer in question exercised his right not to be interviewed by the SIU.
"While I am persuaded on the foregoing analysis that the [officer] drove dangerously and, in so doing, directly caused or contributed to the collision that resulted in the complainant’s injuries, I am unable to reasonably conclude with a sufficient degree of confidence that the officer’s conduct amounted to a marked deviation from a reasonable level of care," wrote SIU Director Joseph Martino.
The complete report can be found on the SIU website.
