Special Investigations UnitSpecial Investigations Unit
London

SIU: No Grounds To Charge Officer in 2015 Crash

An investigation by Ontario's civilian police monitor has cleared an OPP officer of any wrongdoing in connection with a brief chase that resulted in a rollover crash that left a driver with several broken bones.

The Special Investigations Unit sent a team of investigators to London in December of 2015 after a single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 401 near Veteran's Memorial Pkwy. Just after 6:30pm on December 19, 2015 a concerned motorist called Middlesex OPP to report a vehicle on County Rd. 14 toward Hwy. 402 that was speeding and being driven erratically.

According to the SIU, officers stopped the vehicle on Hwy. 402 and one officer spoke to the driver, whom police say had a strong odour of alcohol on his breath. Police also reported he was slurring his words and had glassy eyes. The driver was told to give a breath sample.

A second officer, who had been standing on the passenger's side of the vehicle, joined the first officer on the driver's side. The SIU says the driver tried to speed away, forcing the first officer to push the second officer out of the way. The vehicle brushed against the first officer's leg.

The second officer ran to his cruiser and started following the suspect vehicle, catching up to it on Hwy. 401 near the Wellington Rd. overpass. Estimating the suspect vehicle's speed at up to 150 km/h, the officer stopped the chase after taking down the suspect vehicle's licence plate number.

Not long after, the suspect vehicle rolled as the driver tried to exit onto Veterans Memorial Pkwy. The driver was ejected from the vehicle.

About a minute later, the officer was flagged down by a witness and began tending to the injured driver.

The driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

“The subject officer affected a valid roadside stop after receiving information respecting a potentially impaired driver," says SIU Director Tony Lopaco. "From there, he conducted a proper roadside investigation and made a lawful breath demand premised on reasonable suspicion. The man chose to respond to this lawful investigation by fleeing from the police. The man’s actions were clearly directed to avoiding criminal liability. He fled at a dangerous rate of speed with zero regard for other people using the highway. The subject officer had no other interaction with the man until he arrived at the scene of the collision. There is no evidentiary basis to conclude that the man’s injuries are attributable to the actions of the subject officer.”

The driver, a then 40-year-old Londoner, was charged with several offences including impaired driving, dangerous driving, and flight from police.

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