The Ontario Special Investigation Unit invoked its mandate after a 30-year-old man suffered serious injuries when bitten in the leg by a police dog in Odessa on June 2, 2020.
According to the report, OPP responded to a call on June 2 that a man had run over a women with his motor vehicle. When police arrived, the suspect had fled to a nearby wooded area. After several hours of searching, the police service dog located the suspect and bit the man at least twice before the dog’s handler arrived and subsequently placed the suspect under arrest.
“The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the dog’s handler committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s arrest and injuries,” the report issued by the SIU said.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.