No charges for OPP officer after man being pursued flees in cruiser with baby

TORONTO — The provincial Special Investigations Unit announced it does not have any reasonable grounds to lay charges against an OPP officer after a routine speeding stop took a bizarre turn in January.

According to the SIU, an OPP officer parked his marked cruiser along the right shoulder on the eastbound side of Hwy. 407 in Brampton on Jan. 8, 2016.

At around 7:30 p.m., the officer noticed a vehicle approaching at a high speed, clocking it in at about 152 km/h in a 100 km/h zone.

The officer prepared for a traffic stop, with plans to let the vehicle pass him so he could drive behind and stop it.

However, when he took a look back in the rear-view mirror, the officer noticed that the car slowed down significantly.

It then made a sudden U-turn and drove down the wrong side of Hwy. 401, and exited using the Hwy. 410 ramp.

The officer made a three-point turn and pursued the vehicle.

Not 30 seconds later, the officer saw the car had collided head-on with another vehicle.

Two men from the car fled the scene on foot, jumped over a concrete barrier, and ran along an embankment. One of them was holding an infant, the SIU said. The officer pursued the men on foot.

The two split up when the man carrying the infant returned to the collision scene and got into the officer’s cruiser, locking himself inside. The officer attempted to open the doors, but the man sped off while dragging the officer for a short period of time.

“The subject officer was engaged in the lawful pursuit of two men, and the urgency of the circumstances warranted his involvement,” said SIU Director Tony Loparco. “Not only did he encounter a dangerous and dynamic situation involving a foot pursuit with two individuals, one who was clutching an infant, he had his police vehicle stolen.”

Later, a seven-year-old child was also found wandering at the top of the embankment near the site of the collision.

The SIU says the officer tended to her, then returned to the collision scene and found a 37-year-old female passenger with serious injuries.

Paramedics arrived and took the woman to hospital for treatment.

The SIU investigates incidents involving police that result in allegations of injury, sexual assault or death.