The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, found no reasonable grounds to believe that an Owen Sound Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the death of a 57-year-old man.
On September 26, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., the man was arrested on the strength of a number of outstanding warrants.
According to the SIU’s report, at booking, the man acknowledged he suffered from asthma and had recently missed a methadone appointment. At approximately 3:40 p.m., he was released from custody.
About 20 minutes later, he went into medical distress at the downtown Tim Hortons. According to the report, he complained of medical distress and asthma. He was reportedly given a puffer by someone at the Tim Hortons, but lost vital signs.
He was pronounced deceased in hospital.
On December 15, 2022, the SIU was advised by a pathologist that after reviewing the concluding toxicology, the pathologist was confident in suggesting the man had consumed lethal doses of drugs after his release from police custody.
SIU Director Joseph Martino says, from the moment of his arrest until his release by police, the man was in custody for about seven hours and was personally checked while in cells 12 times.
He says, “Aside from the time of his release, when the Complainant steadied himself on a wall and may have complained of shortness of breath prior to exiting the police station, the Complainant appears not to have given any indication of discomfort.”
He adds that at no point was the man captured on police cameras consuming drugs.
Martino says, “Coupled with the medical evidence, this strongly suggests that the Complainant consumed lethal doses of drugs after his release from police custody and prior to his arrival at the Tim Hortons – a time interval of about 20 minutes.”
He concludes, “For the foregoing reasons, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the SO transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law in connection with the supervision received by the Complainant while in police custody. As such, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed.”