SIU clears officer directing traffic when e-bike hit

An Ottawa police officer has been cleared of fault after a man on an e-bike was struck and seriously injured at an intersection where the officer was directing traffic on Sept. 17, 2018.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit cleared the officer on Monday, saying there were no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges.

The officer was directing traffic at the intersection of St. Laurent Boulevard and Donald Street that day while city crews worked to repair traffic lights. The e-bike rider, a 75-year-old man, was southbound on St. Laurent when the officer signalled for him and the other traffic to stop. A short time later, the officer signalled for the St. Laurent traffic to proceed and that’s when the e-bike rider was struck by a car eastbound on Donald that failed to stop.

The man was seriously injured in the collision and required surgery, the SIU report said. The SIU does not mention if the driver of the car was charged.

But it was clear, the Ottawa officer was not at fault, it said.

“Might the SO (subject officer) have done more to prevent the flow of eastbound traffic? Perhaps, but he was also entitled to expect that approaching motorists would

notice the traffic signals were not functioning and pay heed to the officer directing traffic in the intersection,” it said.

Investigators interviewed the e-bike rider, two civilian witnesses and reviewed the notes of two Ottawa police officer during its probe.

The SIU is a civilian police watchdog that investigates cases of serious injury, sexual assault or death involving police.