The director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into an January 2018 interaction between a 36-year-old man and Espanola Police Service (EPS) officers.
The SIU was made aware of this incident March 26.
On Jan. 19, the man was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by another man. At around 10 p.m., an EPS officer had the vehicle pull over on Second Street.
When the officer became aware that the passenger had outstanding warrants, the man was arrested and taken to the police station. The man later complained to his lawyer that he sustained a serious injury during his arrest.
“The medical evidence establishes that the man’s injury predates his contact with the police officer,” Loparco said. “Accordingly, this investigation has been terminated.”
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.
Under the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU must consider whether an officer has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation depending on the evidence, lay a criminal charge against the officer if appropriate or close the file without any charges being laid report the results of any investigations to the Attorney General.
