NEWS RELEASE
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT
***********************
The province’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 61-year-old man in Fort Erie this week.
Preliminary information suggests the following:
- At approximately 2:10 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2021, Niagara Regional Police Service officers responded to the area of Lakeshore Road and Adelaide Street to assist Emergency Medical Services with a violent patient who was in an ambulance and being transported from his home to hospital.
- The officers assisted in subduing the man and they applied handcuffs to him.
- On Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, the man passed away in hospital. He was pronounced deceased at 11:59 p.m.
One investigator and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the case. One subject officer and one witness officer have been designated.
The post-mortem is scheduled to take place tomorrow morning.
The SIU is urging anyone who may have information about this investigation to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529. The Unit is also urging anyone who may have any video evidence related to this incident to upload that video through the SIU website.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge 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
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations
******************************
