Cop not responsible for fatal crash on Richmond St. north, says police watchdog
SIU finds the 2024 pursuit was too short for the officer to have put anyone in danger
An OPP officer has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing in an investigation into the death of a man in the London area last November, according to the province's police watchdog.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation stems from a fatal head-on collision that also seriously injured two people, and followed a brief police pursuit, the SIU's director, Joseph Martino, wrote in a report released Tuesday.
On November 30, 2024, the report said an officer tried to pull over a Nissan on Richmond Street, north of Medway Road ,after the vehicle passed the officer's car at a high rate of speed, heading toward the city.
Evidence laid out in the report suggests the time between the officer turning on his emergency lights and attempting to pull the driver over, and the time of a collision that killed the 35-year-old Nissan driver, was roughly nine seconds.
The driver of the Nissan was pronounced dead in hospital following the crash.
Data from the Nissan suggests it was traveling at a speed upward of 120 km/h before the driver attempted to pass another vehicle, and crashed into a Mazda that was travelling north at just 10 km/h over the posted 60 km/h speed limit.
The two occupants of the Mazda were a 61-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman, both of whom were seriously injured in the crash.
"While the officer reached a top speed of 96 km/h shortly after pulling onto the roadway and travelling through the Medway Road intersection, there is no indication that the [officer's] speed – short-lived and mitigated by the officer's use of emergency lights – imperilled other drivers on the roadway," the report reads, adding there's no evidence to suggest the officer's vehicle was close enough to the Nissan to make contact.
The investigation report concludes there is no reason to proceed with criminal charges against the officer.
The SIU is called to investigate when officers are involved in situations that result in death, serious injury, a firearm being discharged, or allegations of sexual assault.