Province's SIU clears OPP officer after man's death following police dog bite
The province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has cleared an OPP officer of any wrongdoing in connection to the death of a Midland man in November 2023.
The SIU was called in to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Dale Lewis. The 45-year-old died in hospital on Nov. 5, nearly one month after being bit by a police dog during an arrest.
The incident took place on Oct. 13. Officers negotiated with Lewis, who was barricaded inside a Midland apartment, for nearly nine hours.
According to the report by the SIU, the police dog was deployed after negotiations were proving futile around the five-hour mark. The dog bit and held the man, allowing police to place him under arrest, an action the SIU report deemed as necessary force.
SIU Director Joseph Martino said it remains unclear whether the dog bite and subsequent infection were related in any way to the man's death. However, the report says the exact cause of Lewis' death is still not known.
CTV News Public Safety Analyst and former OPP commissioner Chris Lewis had suggested to CTV News in November 2023 that he found the SIU's involvement in the case puzzling.
"Certainly, police K9 units have bitten people and injured them over the years; that kind of comes with the turf, but someone actually dying as a result of that is a very rare occurrence," Lewis said in November.
The SIU is called in anytime police are involved in an incident that results in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a weapon at another person.
https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/province-s-si ... -1.6796199
Province's SIU clears OPP officer after man's death followin
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Province's SIU clears OPP officer after man's death followin
by Thomas » Sun Mar 10, 2024 3:53 pm
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SIU concludes investigation into death of Midland man bitten
by Thomas » Sun Mar 10, 2024 3:55 pm
SIU concludes investigation into death of Midland man bitten by police dog without laying charges
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has concluded its investigation into the death of a 45-year-old man in Midland who was bitten by a police dog last October, saying that the deployment of the canine constituted “reasonably necessary force” and no charges will be laid.
On Tuesday evening, the SIU released the findings of its investigation into the actions of the Ontario Provincial Police officer who gave the green light to deploy the service dog during the Oct. 13 incident.
SIU Director Joseph Martino said he found no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s death.
According to the SIU, the incident began that Friday afternoon in the parking lot of a liquidation shop on Bay Street, where concerned citizens reported seeing a man brandishing a firearm during a fight with another man.
When police arrived, the man who pulled the firearm, designated as the Complainant in the report, had already fled the scene in a vehicle. However, officers were able to track his vehicle using information given by witnesses.
Police subsequently attended the man’s address, and the SIU said attempts to have him surrender went unheeded. An officer, referred to as the subject official (SO) in the report, became in charge of the situation.
“Over the course of hours, multiple attempts to reach the Complainant inside the apartment were unsuccessful. These included phone calls, text messages and [communication] with a loudhailer,” the SIU said.
Just after 7 p.m., a woman got out of the apartment and was taken into custody without incident. She told police that the man was asleep. Three hours later, the SO authorized entry into the apartment.
“The plan was to send in a drone to ascertain the Complainant’s location. The tactic failed when the drone malfunctioned. The next attempt to enter the apartment would be by way of a police dog. Once located, the dog would bite and hold the Complainant pending the arrival of officers to effect his arrest,” the SIU said.
The police dog, fitted with a camera providing a live video feed to his handler, was sent in through the apartment door and found the Complainant on the bed. The SIU said the dog latched onto the left arm of the man, who screamed in pain.
Officers shortly entered the apartment and took the man into custody. Paramedics examined him before he was transported to the hospital to be treated for the dog bite.
The SIU said the man sustained tendon damage and was referred to a plastic surgeon before being released into the custody of police with a prescription for antibiotics and pain medication.
Days later, on Oct. 17 and 18, the man was transported from the correctional centre to the hospital for treatment of infection. He was again taken to the hospital five days later “because of odd behaviour,” the SIU said.
On Nov. 4, he was admitted as the infection got worse. The SIU said his condition deteriorated, and the next day, he was found by a nurse hypoxic and pulseless. The man was subsequently pronounced dead.
The final SIU report did not include a cause of death.
“At the end of the investigation, it remains unclear whether and to what extent the police dog bite and the resulting infection that set in are causally related to the Complainant’s death,” SIU Director Martino said.
“Be that as it may, as I am satisfied that the dog’s deployment constituted reasonably necessary force, I am unable to reasonably conclude that the Complainant’s death is the result of unlawful conduct on the part of the subject official.”
https://www.cp24.com/news/siu-concludes ... -1.6796194
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has concluded its investigation into the death of a 45-year-old man in Midland who was bitten by a police dog last October, saying that the deployment of the canine constituted “reasonably necessary force” and no charges will be laid.
On Tuesday evening, the SIU released the findings of its investigation into the actions of the Ontario Provincial Police officer who gave the green light to deploy the service dog during the Oct. 13 incident.
SIU Director Joseph Martino said he found no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s death.
According to the SIU, the incident began that Friday afternoon in the parking lot of a liquidation shop on Bay Street, where concerned citizens reported seeing a man brandishing a firearm during a fight with another man.
When police arrived, the man who pulled the firearm, designated as the Complainant in the report, had already fled the scene in a vehicle. However, officers were able to track his vehicle using information given by witnesses.
Police subsequently attended the man’s address, and the SIU said attempts to have him surrender went unheeded. An officer, referred to as the subject official (SO) in the report, became in charge of the situation.
“Over the course of hours, multiple attempts to reach the Complainant inside the apartment were unsuccessful. These included phone calls, text messages and [communication] with a loudhailer,” the SIU said.
Just after 7 p.m., a woman got out of the apartment and was taken into custody without incident. She told police that the man was asleep. Three hours later, the SO authorized entry into the apartment.
“The plan was to send in a drone to ascertain the Complainant’s location. The tactic failed when the drone malfunctioned. The next attempt to enter the apartment would be by way of a police dog. Once located, the dog would bite and hold the Complainant pending the arrival of officers to effect his arrest,” the SIU said.
The police dog, fitted with a camera providing a live video feed to his handler, was sent in through the apartment door and found the Complainant on the bed. The SIU said the dog latched onto the left arm of the man, who screamed in pain.
Officers shortly entered the apartment and took the man into custody. Paramedics examined him before he was transported to the hospital to be treated for the dog bite.
The SIU said the man sustained tendon damage and was referred to a plastic surgeon before being released into the custody of police with a prescription for antibiotics and pain medication.
Days later, on Oct. 17 and 18, the man was transported from the correctional centre to the hospital for treatment of infection. He was again taken to the hospital five days later “because of odd behaviour,” the SIU said.
On Nov. 4, he was admitted as the infection got worse. The SIU said his condition deteriorated, and the next day, he was found by a nurse hypoxic and pulseless. The man was subsequently pronounced dead.
The final SIU report did not include a cause of death.
“At the end of the investigation, it remains unclear whether and to what extent the police dog bite and the resulting infection that set in are causally related to the Complainant’s death,” SIU Director Martino said.
“Be that as it may, as I am satisfied that the dog’s deployment constituted reasonably necessary force, I am unable to reasonably conclude that the Complainant’s death is the result of unlawful conduct on the part of the subject official.”
https://www.cp24.com/news/siu-concludes ... -1.6796194
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