A Guelph Ontario Provincial Police officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in a high-speed pursuit that resulted in the death of an Arnprior woman who was struck by the fleeing vehicle in December 2015.
The officer, whose name was not released, was cleared by the SIU after they found there was no reasonable grounds to lay a criminal charge of dangerous driving causing death.
The officer had chased a Ford Escape that had blown through a police RIDE checkpoint in downtown Guelph at 2:30 a.m.
The officer was driving nearly 70 km/h over the speed limit with his emergency lights on when the driver of the SUV lost control and crashed.
Grace Glofcheskie, 24, was returning to her apartment in Guelph after walking a friend home when was she struck by the SUV as it skidded down the sidewalk.
Glofcheskie, a recent graduate of the Guelph College of Biological Science, died in hospital later that morning.
In clearing the officer, SIU director Tony Loparco said evidence from security cameras and data from the police cruiser’s onboard automated vehicle log showed the officer was slowing down and backing off the chase in the moments before the crash.
For the bulk of the 40-second, 1.2-kilometre chase the roads were empty and driving conditions were good.
The SUV, which was later found to have been stolen, crashed as the driver tried to turn onto a residential street at a five-way intersection.
It was travelling between 116 km/h and 125 km/h when the driver lost control, the SIU found.
“The full body of evidence does not furnish me with reasonable grounds to believe that the subject officer is criminally culpable for Ms. Glofcheskie’s tragic death. Consequently, no charges will issue and this file will be closed,” Loparco said in a statement released Thursday.
The driver of the SUV ran from the scene, but was arrested two days later at a Guelph motel.
Curtis Henry, 21, pleaded guilty last summer to charges of criminal negligence causing death, leaving the scene of an accident, possession of a stolen vehicle, breaking and entering, two counts of vehicle theft, and breaching probation.
Glofcheskie was a talented golfer and captain of the Guelph Gryphons golf team. The university and her family established a scholarship in her honour.
http://www.ottawasun.com/2017/03/23/gue ... rior-woman
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener ... -1.4038146
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new ... rior-woman
Guelph OPP officer cleared in high-speed pursuit crash that killed Arnprior woman
-
Michael Jack
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2756
- Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:18 pm
- Contact:
Guelph OPP officer cleared in high-speed pursuit crash that killed Arnprior woman
Michael Jack, Administrator
-
Michael Jack
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2756
- Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:18 pm
- Contact:
OPP officer won't be charged in SUV chase that killed Grace Glofcheskie
Glofcheskie died after she was hit by an SUV in Guelph in Dec. 2015
An Ontario Provincial Police officer who was pursuing the SUV that struck and killed Grace Glofcheskie in Guelph in December 2015 will not face criminal charges.
The province's Special Investigations Unit announced Tuesday there are "no reasonable grounds" to charge the officer.
Curtis Henry pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death in Glofcheskie's death in July 2016.
The SIU said it assigned seven investigators, two forensic investigators and one collision reconstructionist to the case.
Six civilians and six police officers were interviewed for the SIU investigation. The officer being investigated did not take part or provide a copy of his notes, which he is legally allowed to withhold.
Pursuit caught on security footage
The SIU said Henri approached a RIDE spot check in Guelph at Rose Street and Arthur Street North on Dec. 13 at 2:35 a.m. in a stolen SUV. Henri initially slowed down, then accelerated past the officer at the check, almost hitting him.
The officer then got into his cruiser and chased after Henri.
The stolen SUV traveled through Guelph's downtown on MacDonell Street – which would have been busy as people left bars – turning left on Woolwich Street and speeding in front of the city's River Run Centre, a theatre complex.
Footage taken from security footage showed some of the chase, and the SIU said the officer was "in close proximity to the vehicle being pursued" and had his emergency lights on.
When Henri drove into a five-way intersection at Woolwich Street and Norfolk Street, he veered to the right and lost control, colliding with the west curb.
"The vehicle mounted the west sidewalk and struck a utility pole just north of Charles Street at a speed between 116-125 km/h. The car flipped onto its roof and slid along the sidewalk and roadway," the SIU said Thursday.
Glofcheskie 'kind, warm, generous'
Glofcheskie, 24, was walking home after seeing friends. She was on the sidewalk on the west side of the street and was hit by the SUV. She was rushed to hospital, but died from her injuries.
She grew up in Arnprior near Ottawa. In the days after her death, she was remembered by friends at the University of Guelph as someone who was always willing to help.
She was a member of the Gryphons golf team and her coach, Brandon McLeod, remembered her as a "kind, warm, generous, thoughtful" person.
"She just always said 'I'll do that," he said. "You don't find many young people that do as much as she did, that's for sure."
Her brother, Luke, said "there is no shortage of great things" his sister was known for.
'Objectively dangerous' driving
The officer's driving was "objectively dangerous" and was in excess of 68 km/h over the posted speed limit at times, the SIU report said.
"However, the factual context does not allow me to conclude that the driving amounted to a marked departure from the standard of care that a reasonable person in the same situation as the officer would have exercised in the circumstances," SIU director Tony Loparco wrote in a release.
The early morning hour meant Woolwich Street was nearly empty, the SIU said. The majority of the pursuit took place in a commercial area "devoid of foot traffic at that time of day," the roads were dry and the pursuit was just 40 seconds.
It also appeared from footage that the officer was backing off his pursuit as he approached the five-way intersection.
The file is now closed, the SIU said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchene ... -1.4038146
An Ontario Provincial Police officer who was pursuing the SUV that struck and killed Grace Glofcheskie in Guelph in December 2015 will not face criminal charges.
The province's Special Investigations Unit announced Tuesday there are "no reasonable grounds" to charge the officer.
Curtis Henry pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death in Glofcheskie's death in July 2016.
The SIU said it assigned seven investigators, two forensic investigators and one collision reconstructionist to the case.
Six civilians and six police officers were interviewed for the SIU investigation. The officer being investigated did not take part or provide a copy of his notes, which he is legally allowed to withhold.
Pursuit caught on security footage
The SIU said Henri approached a RIDE spot check in Guelph at Rose Street and Arthur Street North on Dec. 13 at 2:35 a.m. in a stolen SUV. Henri initially slowed down, then accelerated past the officer at the check, almost hitting him.
The officer then got into his cruiser and chased after Henri.
The stolen SUV traveled through Guelph's downtown on MacDonell Street – which would have been busy as people left bars – turning left on Woolwich Street and speeding in front of the city's River Run Centre, a theatre complex.
Footage taken from security footage showed some of the chase, and the SIU said the officer was "in close proximity to the vehicle being pursued" and had his emergency lights on.
When Henri drove into a five-way intersection at Woolwich Street and Norfolk Street, he veered to the right and lost control, colliding with the west curb.
"The vehicle mounted the west sidewalk and struck a utility pole just north of Charles Street at a speed between 116-125 km/h. The car flipped onto its roof and slid along the sidewalk and roadway," the SIU said Thursday.
Glofcheskie 'kind, warm, generous'
Glofcheskie, 24, was walking home after seeing friends. She was on the sidewalk on the west side of the street and was hit by the SUV. She was rushed to hospital, but died from her injuries.
She grew up in Arnprior near Ottawa. In the days after her death, she was remembered by friends at the University of Guelph as someone who was always willing to help.
She was a member of the Gryphons golf team and her coach, Brandon McLeod, remembered her as a "kind, warm, generous, thoughtful" person.
"She just always said 'I'll do that," he said. "You don't find many young people that do as much as she did, that's for sure."
Her brother, Luke, said "there is no shortage of great things" his sister was known for.
'Objectively dangerous' driving
The officer's driving was "objectively dangerous" and was in excess of 68 km/h over the posted speed limit at times, the SIU report said.
"However, the factual context does not allow me to conclude that the driving amounted to a marked departure from the standard of care that a reasonable person in the same situation as the officer would have exercised in the circumstances," SIU director Tony Loparco wrote in a release.
The early morning hour meant Woolwich Street was nearly empty, the SIU said. The majority of the pursuit took place in a commercial area "devoid of foot traffic at that time of day," the roads were dry and the pursuit was just 40 seconds.
It also appeared from footage that the officer was backing off his pursuit as he approached the five-way intersection.
The file is now closed, the SIU said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchene ... -1.4038146
Michael Jack, Administrator