SIOUX LOOKOUT, Ont. – The province’s Special Investigations Unit has determined there are no grounds to lay charges against a Sioux Lookout OPP officer after a suspect was found with bleeding on the brain in a May 2017 incident.
According to a report published on Wednesday by the SIU, police arrested the man at about 10:21 p.m. on May 2, 2017 at a Sioux Lookout motel for trespassing and public intoxication, housing him in a cell at the local OPP detachment.
The next day, shortly after noon, as the complainant was being released officers noticed he appeared disoriented and had an injury to his left eye. He was taken to hospital, where he was found to have suspected serious bleeding on his brain.
He was then airlifted to Thunder Bay for treatment at the Regional Health Sciences Centre.
The report said the complainant had locked himself inside a motel unit he was not authorized to be in and that when police arrived he smelled strongly of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet.
While in custody the man vomited and urinated, but did not complain of an injury. None was observed.
Upon his release, officers noted bruising above his left eye and subsequent treatment revealed the bleeding on the brain and fractures to his left and right eye sockets.
Video evidence shows there was no altercation between the man and anyone else in the cell and the complainant said afterward he had no recollection of being at the motel, any interaction with police, being arrested or how the injury occurred.
There were no civilian witnesses.
As a result, there is no evidence as to what happened while he was being taken into custody and video at the station shows he was not injured while in custody.
The medical evidence suggests there was a real possibility the injuries occurred before his interaction with police and his level of intoxication masked his symptoms.
“In conclusion, on all of the available evidence, I am unable to find that there are any reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence was committed by any police officer in this instance and no charges will issue,” concludes SIU director Tony Loparco, in a report dated Jan. 10.
