The province’s police oversight agency has determined there are no reasonable grounds to charge a Sarnia police officer following the death of a man in Sarnia.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said officers with the Sarnia Police Service were called to a residence on London Road during the late morning hours of September 12, 2022, after a caller reported a man in a backyard who was refusing to leave.
Two officers arrived at the scene to find a man who appeared to be dishevelled and under the influence of drugs. When asked his name, the officers said the man responded “Satan”.
The officers called EMS and placed the man in a “recovery position” to prevent him from rolling onto the roadway. However, the man stopped breathing just as paramedics arrived. Attempts were made to save his life, but the man was pronounced dead in hospital a short time later.
“While the cause of the complainant’s death remains unknown at this time, there are no reasonable grounds to believe it is attributable to any transgressions of care on the part of the [subject officer],” said SIU Director Joseph Martino in a report. “As such, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges at this time.”
The SIU investigates all incidents involving police that have resulted in death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person, or allegations of sexual assault.
