No charges will be laid against an OPP officer who was attempting to arrest a 22-year-old man on Oct. 12 at Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, who then leapt 20 metres to his death.
The officer, who was not named in the Special Investigations Unit report released on Thursday, was acquitted of any wrongdoing in the death of Kurtis McVittie. SIU director Ian Scott said there are no grounds to believe the officer in question committed a criminal offence.
According to the investigation, handled by two officers, the subject officer was dispatched to the park after reports of unusual behavior by McVittie.
Upon arrival, and gathering more information from witnesses, the officer approached McVittie with the intentions of detaining him under section 17 of the Mental Health Act.
McVittie turned away from the office and appeared to be complying with the arrest, positioning his arms in such a manner to allow handcuffs to be placed on his wrists.
“However, instead of remaining still, he ran away and jumped over the railing at the look-out area of the falls,” the report states.
A civilian witness independent of the investigation said McVitties legs bucked after he jumped, causing the fatal fall. No one was near him when he fell.
“In my view, the subject officer had very little to do with Mr. McVittie’s tragic death,” Scott said in a release issued Thursday by the SIU.
“While it is difficult to conclude whether the officer had the appropriate grounds to detain or arrest Mr. McVittie because he did not provide the SIU with a statement (or turn over his notes, his legal right), he clearly had no physical contact with the now- deceasedat the critical moment when he leapt over the railing, lost his footing and fell to his death.
“Accordingly I have no reasonable grounds to believe that the subject officer committed a criminal offence in relation to Mr. McVittie’s untimely demise.”
