No criminal charges to be laid after LPS cruiser collides with cyclist in central London, Ont.
No criminal charges will be laid after a cyclist was injured after being struck by a London police cruiser near the city’s core last December, the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said on Friday.
According to the SIU, on Dec. 7, 2023 at approximately 4:30 p.m., an officer with the London Police Service was operating a marked police cruiser on William Street in London and was attempting to make a left-hand turn onto York Street when she collided with a cyclist who was riding his bicycle through a pedestrian crosswalk.
The 54-year-old male cyclist was thrown from his bicycle, and was subsequently tended to by the officer who radioed in the incident.
The cyclist was transported to Victoria Hospital by paramedics where he was diagnosed with a fractured nose and orbital bone. He was later released from hospital.
The officer declined to conduct an interview with the SIU or release her notes, however she did provide a written statement.
The SIU's determination
In SIU Director Joseph Martino’s determination, he concluded “there are no reasonable grounds” to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the cyclist’s injuries.
Martino did concede that the officer in question was to blame for the collision as the cyclist had the right of way, that the officer failed to yield to the cyclist and did not embark on her turn until it was safe to do so.
“Why she acted as she did is not entirely clear as the officer did not agree an interview with the SIU, as was her legal right,” he said. “It would appear she simply did not see the complainant even though he would have been clearly visible to her at the time.”
However, Martino also noted that the officer’s actions did not constitute a departure from a reasonable standard of care in the situation, and that other than the “ill-advised” left-hand turn, "there is no indication in the evidence of any other dangerous driving behaviour on the part of the SO [subject officer] in the time leading to the collision” as the officer performed the turn at a reasonable speed.
“On this record, it would appear that the conduct in question is the type of isolated lapse of attention that falls short of transgressing the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law,” he said.
As a result of the investigation, Martino said no criminal charges would be filed in this case.
The file is now closed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Fire at a baby care centre kills 7 infants in India's capital, a fire officer says
A fire broke out in a baby care center in India's capital Saturday night, killing seven infants, a fire service officer said.
UN migration agency estimates more than 670 killed in Papua New Guinea landslide
The International Organization for Migration on Sunday increased its estimate of the death toll from a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea to more than 670 as emergency responders and traumatized relatives gave up hope that any survivors will now be found.
More seniors are using homeless shelters. Here's why, according to experts
One of the country’s homeless shelters has seen an uptick in the number of people through its doors, including more older adults over 50.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
No sign Canada has a plan to reach NATO defence spending target: U.S. NATO ambassador
The U.S. ambassador to NATO says she has seen no indication that Canada has a plan to reach the NATO spending target of two per cent of GDP on defence.
Man or machine? Toronto company finds a way to determine how real audio clips are
The Toronto-based research arm of life sciences technology firm Klick Health has found a way to analyze voices in a manner that’s so granular, it can tell whether it's a person or an artificial intelligence-powered machine.