Ontario's police watchdog has determined there are no grounds on which to charge a local OPP officer after a collision that left a man with back and ankle injuries.
The Special Investigations Unit was called to London on August 13, 2019 after a black pickup truck slammed into a tree on Louise Boulevard. A passenger in the truck suffered a fractured ankle and a back injury.
According to the SIU, the incident began just before 4 a.m., when the Ford F150 pulled into a gas station on Fanshawe Park Road. An OPP was officer was also at the station, filling up a cruiser. The SIU says the officer took notice of the truck when it pulled to the back of the station without its rear lights on. When the truck left the gas station parking lot and headed east on Fanshawe Park Road, the officer followed.
Surveillance footage obtained by the SIU showed the truck reached speeds of over 120 kilometres per hour as it fled from the officer, who had not turned on the cruiser's siren or emergency lights. The truck later turned onto Louise Boulevard, where it hit the tree.
"In the final analysis, in the context of the SO’s [subject officer] short-lived efforts to catch up to, and possibly attempt to signal the F150 to pull over, I am unable to reasonably conclude that the manner in which the officer operated his cruiser ran afoul of the criminal law’s proscriptions, notwithstanding the speeds he reached during his engagement with the Complainant," SIU Director Joseph Martino said in his final report. "Consequently, there is no basis for proceeding with charges in this case and the file is closed."
The full report can be read by clicking here.
