Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared a Sault Ste. Marie police officer of any criminal wrongdoing in the case of a prisoner who fell ill after ingesting fentanyl.
In a news release issued on Saturday of the Canada Day long weekend, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced “there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s medical crisis.”
According to the full report of SIU director Joseph Martino, which is available online, the incident began on the afternoon of March 4, 2024, when police attended a city address to arrest a 54-year-old man wanted on a domestic violence warrant.
As police arrived, the man ingested an unknown amount of fentanyl. Officers administered two doses of Narcan, a medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, and called for an ambulance.
After being transported to Sault Area Hospital and medically cleared, the unnamed man was driven to police headquarters on Second Line East and placed in a cell, pending his bail hearing.
The supervising officer who was the subject of the SIU investigation (and who is also not named in the report) checked on the prisoner at approximately 7:30 p.m.
“The [officer], having found the Complainant asleep sitting up with his chin down, placed the complainant in the recovery position,” the report reads.
Over the next four hours, a special constable was assigned to conduct regular checks of the prisoner: at 8:16 p.m., 8:50 p.m., 9:25 p.m., 9:57 p.m., 10:15 p.m., 10:31 p.m., and 10:46 p.m. At 11:46 p.m., video surveillance shows the special constable looking inside the cell for approximately 30 seconds.
“He noticed brown liquid on the bed, drool at the Complainant’s mouth, and an eye that was open,” the report reads.
He contacted his supervising officer for help, who then entered the cell with another colleague.
“The officers were unable to rouse the Complainant,” the report reads. “His breathing had slowed significantly and his nails had turned blue. An ambulance was called to the scene.”
Taken to hospital and treated in the intensive care unit, the man had aspirated fluid into his lungs.
A civilian agency, the SIU investigates any interaction involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. They were notified of the incident at 1:08 a.m. on March 2.
In this case, the agency considered whether the supervising officer had failed to provide the necessaries of life, or committed criminal negligence causing bodily harm — both offences under the Criminal Code. To be convicted of criminal negligence, there must be evidence of “wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.”
Martino concluded there was not.
“I am also satisfied that the [officer] and the other officers who dealt with the Complainant comported themselves with due care and regard for his health and safety throughout his period of custody,” he wrote. “The arresting officers were quick to recognize that the Complainant was suffering the effects of a possible fentanyl overdose and administered naloxone while waiting for an ambulance to attend.
"Back at the station," the report continues, "the Complainant having been medically cleared at hospital, the [supervising officer] ensured that he was subject to regular monitoring by a dedicated special constable, took steps to place the Complainant in a safe position while he slept, and promptly called for paramedics as soon as it was clear the Complainant had become unresponsive.”
The file is now closed.
The SIU’s full report on the incident can be found HERE.