Niagara officer cleared of any wrongdoing
SIU completes investigation into September 2017 crash at Beaverdams and Beechwood
The province’s police watchdog agency has determined there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against a Niagara officer in relation to injuries sustained by a motorist following a singlevehicle crash in September 2017.
According to a report issued by the Special Investigations Unit earlier this month, the unnamed officer behaved “professionally, prudently and with good common sense” when he attempted to stop a stolen vehicle in rural Niagara Falls.
On Sept. 7, 2017, at about 7 a.m., Niagara Regional Police was advised that a pickup truck with an attached trailer carrying a number of lawn tractors had been stolen from a Niagara Falls residence.
Shortly before 8:30 a.m., the owner of a salvage company in Thorold called police to report two men had attempted to sell him a truck, trailer and lawn equipment. He declined because both men appeared to be under the influence of intoxicants and he suspected the items were stolen.
A police officer subsequently located the truck and trailer at the intersection of Beaverdams and Beechwood roads and initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle failed to stop and left the roadway, colliding with a tree on Beechwood Road.
The 38-year-old driver was partially ejected from the vehicle and taken by air ambulance to an out-of-town hospital where he was treated for rib fractures.
According to the SIU, the man had to be administered multiple injections of Narcan — a drug used to counter the effects of opiate overdose — on the ground, in an air ambulance and at hospital, to counteract the drugs in his system.
SIU director Tony Loparco said the injured man claimed the cruiser had rammed the truck. His passenger, however, told police at no time did the cruiser make contact with the truck and the collision resulted from the fact the driver was impaired by drugs and was driving poorly.
“While the complainant provided a statement to investigators, I am unable to place any reliance on his evidence as it is completely contradicted not only by the physical evidence, the evidence of the civilian witness, the 911 callers, and the medical evidence, but also by his own passenger,” Loparco said in the report.
The complainant denied having any drugs in his possession, but a paramedic located a Kinder Surprise plastic egg in his underwear which was filled with bags containing fentanyl, marijuana and mushrooms.
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.