The province's police watchdog has determined that while a Windsor police officer is responsible for a crash involving a man on a scooter no criminal charges are warranted.
The Special Investigations Unit was called on September 2, 2019, after an 87-year-old man was hit by a police cruiser while crossing the Wyandotte Street East and McDougall Street intersection while on his motorized scooter. The man was sent to the hospital because of a head injury.
The Interim Director of the SIU Joseph Martino determined there are no grounds to lay criminal charges.
"While I accept that the subject officer is responsible for the regrettable collision that resulted in the Complainant's injury, I am not satisfied on reasonable grounds that the officer’s conduct was sufficiently wanting to attract criminal liability," Martino wrote in his decision.
Martino wrote that it was clear from video evidence that the man on the scooter had the right of way but the officer simply did not see him.
"How it is that the subject officer failed to see the complainant remains unknown. Perhaps he was distracted by something or other. Be that as it may, I am unable to reasonably conclude that the subject officer’s singular indiscretion represents a marked deviation from a reasonable level of care in the circumstances," wrote Martino.
The investigation is complete and the file is closed.
