WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has terminated an investigation after a man sustained a head injury during an arrest in Harrow.
SIU Director Joseph Martino said based on preliminary inquiries “it is apparent that the SIU is without jurisdiction to continue with the investigation,” as the injuries sustained do not amount to a “serious injury” within the SIU’s terms.
It was reported on the night of June 23, Essex OPP officers responded to a mischief call and located a 26-year-old man. After a struggle, the man was arrested and placed in the back of a police cruiser.
A news release from SIU states that while in the back of the cruiser “the man smashed his head and face off the plexiglass partition in the rear with great force.”
He was then taken to the hospital by EMS.
Martino said originally the matter was reported to the SIU as involving a brain bleed and concussion, however, upon reviewing the man’s medical records he was taken to the hospital where his injuries were determined to be a “subdural hematoma of no significant mass or effect.”
Since the man’s injuries do not fall within the terms of the SIU’s jurisdiction the investigation has been discontinued and the file closed.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
