A report into a serious crash involving a Windsor Police officer on a bicycle and a motorcyclist last summer was the result of the officer's "momentary lapse of attention."
The crash, which resulted in serious injuries, happened just after midnight last August 19 at Wyandotte Street East and McDougall Avenue.
The officer was one of three on bicycles responding to a priority call about an overdose, along with an ambulance.
They were westbound on Wyandotte Street when the light turned red at McDougall.
According to a report by the Ontario Special Investigations Unit, the officer slowed but did not stop at the intersection and struck the motorcycle. Both men were thrown from their vehicles.
The motorcyclist, a 64-year-old man who refused to be interviewed by the Special Investigations Unit, suffered facial injuries and a brain bleed. The officer required surgery for a compound fracture.
SIU Director Joseph Martino observed in his report, "the complainant was operating his motorcycle safety in and around the speed limit. Had the subject officer come to a full stop and taken stock of traffic around him, the officer should have noticed the motorcycle."
However, Martino concluded the incident did not rise to the level of a criminal negligence causing bodily harm charge.
"While the subject officer appears largely to blame for the collision, I am unable to reasonably conclude on the evidence that his transgressions ran afoul of the limits prescribed by criminal law," he wrote.
The Special Investigations Unit is called whenever there is an incident involving police officers that result in serious injury, death, or sexual assault.