Chatham-Kent Police have been cleared of any wrongdoing after a man drowned in the Sydenham River this past spring.
The province’s Special Investigations Unit has been looking into an incident on April 6th and 7th. Police were responding to a complaint about two suspicious people on Wallace Street. After being approached by police, the pair jumped into the river.
One person managed to swim to safety, but the other didn’t resurface. Investigators say the man was wearing a backpack at the time and seemed to be weighed down.
The officer got a spare tire from his cruiser to use as a floatation device, but the suspect didn’t resurface. His body was recovered from the water the next morning.
Over the course of the investigation, the agency interviewed several witnesses and looked over cellphone video from a civilian.
In making his final decision, SIU Director Joseph Martino says there is no basis for criminal charges against the officer involved, and the file has been closed.
