SIU ends probe of man’s fall from a bridge in Midhurst

Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, has terminated the investigation into an injury suffered by a 74-year-old Midhurst man.

According to the Ontario Provincial Police, at approximately 2:30 p.m. on March 23, officers received a call regarding an attempted suicide on a footbridge near Cairns Road. When they arrived on scene with paramedics, they found a man hanging from a bridge with two dog leashes tied around his neck.

Paramedics and an officer attempted to pull the man back over the railing, however, the leash became too tight around his neck. One of the paramedics proceeded to cut the leash, causing the man to drop five meters into water below the bridge.

Police say the man was brought to shore and taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured ankle.

The SIU had been conducting an investigation into the incident, which has now been terminated.

“The evidence is clear that no police officer contributed in any way to the man’s injury, accordingly, I have terminated the investigation into this incident,” said the director of the SIU, Tony Loparco.