OPP officer cleared by SIU after high-speed pursuit in Ontario sends man to hospital with serious injuries

[Michael Jack]

An OPP officer has been absolved of any criminal charges in a high-speed chase in Northumberland County in the early hours of Canada Day that ended with a Jaguar resting against a concrete culvert and the driver in hospital with a fractured pelvis, a traumatic brain injury, a punctured lung and severe lacerations to an arm.

The province’s Special Instigation Unit invoked its mandate after the collision, which happened on County Road 45 north of Cobourg shortly after midnight on July 1.

Police gave chase after witnessing a vehicle approaching 160 k/hr, with the OPP vehicle reaching speeds of 195 k/hr during the pursuit. A short time later, the subject vehicle lost control on a corner and struck two embankments, went airborne and rolled, before striking a concrete culvert.

The SIU report declared the driver of the OPP vehicle “did not operate his police cruiser in contravention of the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law,” though it was noted that the speeds reached by the officer are “subject to legitimate scrutiny.”

Travelling at more than twice the speed limit for much of his engagement with the complainant, the officer’s vehicle “constituted a danger on the roadway,” the report continued, while adding the “extenuating circumstances” of the chase was enough to determine there was “no basis for proceeding with criminal charges.”

The driver of the Jaguar, a 25-year-old Port Hope man, is facing charges, however, after a parallel police investigation by Northumberland OPP.

On Saturday, January 3 the man was arrested and charged with impaired driving, over 0.8 and dangerous operation of a vehicle.

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg on Wednesday, January 14.

https://www.insauga.com/opp-officer-cle ... -injuries/