SIU Clears Northumberland OPP Officers After 28-Year-Old Dies in Custody

Pete Fisher
2 hours ago
• Categories: Police Blotter

Cause of death remains undetermined as SIU finds no criminal wrongdoing in May death at Cobourg OPP detachment

A 28-year-old man died after suffering seizures while in custody at the Ontario Provincial Police Cobourg Detachment — but the Special Investigations Unit says there are no reasonable grounds to believe any police officer committed a criminal offence.

The SIU investigation, released September 15, examined the man’s arrest in Cramahe Township on May 24, his treatment at Northumberland Hills Hospital, his overnight detention at the Cobourg OPP detachment and his medical crisis the following morning.

The man’s cause of death, however, remains pending.

SIU Director Joseph Martino concluded there was insufficient evidence to lay criminal charges against the subject officer or any of the other OPP officers involved in the man’s custody.

The investigation was launched after the OPP notified the SIU on May 25, approximately an hour after the man was pronounced dead at Northumberland Hills Hospital.

Welfare check led to arrest

The incident began when a civilian contacted police requesting a welfare check.

During a FaceTime call earlier on May 24, the caller saw the 28-year-old man with significant facial injuries, including swollen black eyes and blood on his face.

The man told the caller he had fallen and said he could not remember the previous two days.

Police also had information that he may have been breaching a release order requiring him to reside at his mother’s residence.

OPP officers attended a residence in Cramahe Township shortly before 8 p.m.

According to the SIU report, officers initially learned that the man had suffered what appeared to be a seizure in a garage.

He had bleeding from his mouth and cuts on his arms.

When police returned to the residence, they located him inside and entered because they believed there were urgent medical circumstances.

He was suffering from visible facial injuries.

The man told officers he had fallen during a seizure.

He was arrested for failing to comply with his release order.

EMS was called and the man was assessed before being transported to Northumberland Hills Hospital.

Hospital cleared him for custody

At the hospital, the man underwent a CT scan and was medically cleared for release back into police custody.

He was transported to the Cobourg OPP Detachment shortly before midnight and placed in a cell.

According to the SIU, officers conducted regular detention checks throughout the night.

He appeared to sleep for more than nine hours.

The SIU report states arrangements were also being made to obtain his prescription medication.

But shortly after 10 a.m. on May 25, the situation changed dramatically.

Video reviewed by the SIU showed the man falling from the cell bench and convulsing on the floor.

Officers immediately entered the cell and provided care.

EMS was called.

Paramedics arrived approximately 10 minutes later and transported the man back to Northumberland Hills Hospital.

Despite resuscitative efforts, he was pronounced dead at 12:09 p.m.

SIU examines what happened inside cell

The SIU’s investigation included police communications recordings, body-worn camera footage, in-car camera footage, custody video, police reports and notes, hospital records and preliminary autopsy findings.

The investigation also involved interviews with six civilian witnesses and several OPP officers.

The officer designated as the subject official declined to be interviewed by the SIU, which is his legal right under the legislation.

The SIU said no use of force beyond routine arrest, search and custody procedures was observed.

Two pat-down searches of the man were conducted before he was placed in the cell, with no contraband discovered.

However, the investigation raised the possibility that the man may have had cocaine on him.

The SIU report says there was evidence suggesting he may have accessed and consumed cocaine while in the cell, potentially contributing to the seizures.

Shortly before his medical crisis, video also captured the man reaching into the toilet bowl — behaviour the SIU described as curious.

But the report stresses that this remains speculation.

Cause of death still pending

Perhaps the most significant unanswered question remains the cause of death.

The pathologist conducting the autopsy did not identify any injuries that would account for the man’s death.

His cause of death remained pending at the time the SIU report was completed.

Despite that uncertainty, Director Martino concluded the available evidence did not establish criminal negligence or a failure by police to provide the necessities of life.

“The Complainant was properly taken to hospital after his arrest because of his facial injuries and seizure risk,” Martino wrote.

He also found that the man had been medically assessed and cleared for police custody before being returned to the detachment.

Once in custody, he was regularly monitored.

And when he collapsed, officers responded immediately and requested paramedics.

Why no charges?

The SIU considered two possible criminal offences: failing to provide the necessities of life and criminal negligence causing death.

Both offences require significantly more than an ordinary mistake or simple lack of care.

The SIU found the evidence did not establish the level of conduct necessary for criminal liability.

The report also addresses the possibility that the man may have possessed drugs despite the two pat-down searches.

Martino noted that detecting drugs might potentially have required a strip search.

But strip searches are highly invasive and are only permitted in exceptional circumstances where police have reasonable grounds to believe one is necessary.

The SIU concluded it was not clear that police had grounds for such a search in this case.

The man had not been arrested for a drug offence.

File closed

After reviewing the evidence, Director Martino concluded there were no reasonable grounds to believe the subject officer or any of the police custodians committed a criminal offence in connection with the death.

“The file is closed,” the report states.

The SIU investigation does not determine the man’s cause of death. That remained unresolved in the report, with the pathologist’s findings still pending.

The investigation therefore closes the question of potential criminal liability for the OPP officers — while leaving the circumstances surrounding exactly what caused the 28-year-old man’s death unresolved.