Perth OPP officer cleared of wrongdoing in death of man under his care
Man, 62, died of perforated ulcer in April
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has found there's no reason to believe an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence when a 62-year-old man died while in his care this spring.
On the evening of April 7, 2015, Kemptville OPP officers arrested the man on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court. He was transferred to the Lanark County OPP detachment in Perth, Ont., where the warrant was filed, and was placed in a cell.
"At the initial intake and every 15 minutes throughout the morning, a civilian guard checked on the man," the SIU said in a media release issued Friday.
"At 8:30 a.m., the guard noticed the man was breathing heavily and that he was pale and clammy. An ambulance was called. The man was taken to hospital and pronounced dead."
The pathologist later determined that a perforated ulcer caused the man's death.
'Man was kept under close watch'
The SIU assigned three investigators and one forensic investigator to examine the case. A civilian witness, civilian police employee and six witness officers were questioned.
The officer being investigated did not participate in an interview and did not provide a copy of his duty notes, "as is his legal right," the SIU said.
"It is apparent that the man was kept under close watch while at the police station, and, on the totality of evidence, I am satisfied on reasonable grounds that the man was accorded a level of care that fell within the limits prescribed by criminal law," SIU director Tony Loparco is quoted saying in Friday's media release.
The SIU did not name the man who died.
The SIU is an independent agency that investigates incidents of death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault involving police in Ontario.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/op ... -1.3351336