SIU to investigate in-custody injury (updated)

The province's Special Investigations Unit is looking into what city police describe as an "in-custody injury" to an adult male.

The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service news release does not specify the nature of the injury or any further information about the circumstances of the incident.

The full text of a release from the Ontario Special Investigations Unit follows.

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MISSISSAUGA, ON - (5 April, 2016) - The province’s Special Investigations Unit is (SIU) probing the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a 55-year-old man in Sault Ste. Marie.

Preliminary information suggests the following:

• On March 26, 2016, Sault Ste. Marie Police received a 911 call.

• Officers responded to a residence, where a 55-year-old man was arrested for a breach of recognizance following a brief struggle.

• After the arrest, the man was taken to the Sault Area Hospital.

• He was released without treatment and taken to the Algoma Remand Centre. 

• On March 27, 2016, the man was returned to hospital where further tests found broken bones.   

Three investigators have been assigned to this incident.

The SIU is urging anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529. 

The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. Under the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU must

• consider whether an officer has committed a criminal offence  in connection with the incident under investigation

• depending on the evidence, lay a criminal charge against the officer if appropriate or close the file without any charges being laid

• report the results of any investigations to the Attorney General. 

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