SIU clears Niagara officer following man’s four-storey fall in St. Catharines

A Niagara cop acted with due regard before a man’s four-storey fall from a building in St. Catharines last September, according to a report from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

Joseph Martino, the SIU’s director, released a report clearing the officer Wednesday afternoon.

In his report, Martino outlines the events leading up to the moment a 33-year-old man fell four stories and suffered multiple fractures as well as a brain injury.

Martino writes in his report that “regrettably, while the officer was not able to prevent the complainant from falling, it was not from any want of trying on his part.”

The report says the responding officers tried to negotiate with the man and get him to safety, and details their efforts to notify the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team (MCRRT) which included getting a mental health counsellor on scene.

However, despite their attempts, the man ultimately lost his grip and fell to the pavement below.

The full report can be found here.

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“The [subject officer] was lawfully placed and engaged in the execution of his duties when he responded to the scene,” the report reads.

“As a peace officer, whose foremost responsibility is the protection and preservation of life, the officer was duty-bound to attend and do what he reasonably could to prevent harm coming to the Complainant.”