Stratford officer 'fell short' in duty of deceased toddler, but did not commit criminal offence: SIU
The SIU has determined that a while Stratford, Ont. police officer did not commit a criminal offence in relation to a child who died last year, the officer “fell short” in his duty of care towards the 18-month-old boy.
According to a report issued by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), on the morning of Feb. 16, 2021, first responders were sent to an address on Downie Street in Stratford.
As CTV News London reported in February 2021, upon arriving at the residence, first responders discovered an 18-month-old boy in medical distress.
CPR was performed and the child was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.
Several weeks earlier, Stratford police had information that raised concerns relating to the child’s welfare, and “Because of that information, the question arose whether the police could have intervened to prevent his death in the days before he passed away,” the report says.
An investigation launched shortly after with that question in mind.
In his determination, Director of the SIU Joseph Martino “has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Stratford Police Service (SPS) officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the tragic death of an 18-month-old boy in February of 2021.”
Martino did determine however that the officer did fall short in his duty of care towards the child.
The SIU is an independent authority responsible for investigating the conduct of officials, such as police, that resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault, or the discharge of a weapon at another person.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.