Nearly nine months after launching an investigation into a serious crash involving an OPP cruiser and a taxi in London, Ont., the province’s police watchdog has laid charges against an officer.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says Const. Timothy Groves is facing one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm. Groves has a court date in London scheduled for June 2.
An OPP cruiser collided with a taxi at the intersection of Southdale Road East and Verulam Street around 5 p.m. on July 28, 2019. OPP say the police vehicle was involved in the pursuit of suspects wanted in connection with an alleged robbery in Sarnia, Ont. Two suspects — a Etobicoke man and Mississauga man in their early 20s — were later arrested in connection with the robbery.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said the woman and child were passengers in the taxi involved in the collision with the cruiser.
Porsche Clark, who was 27 at the time, and her then 9-year-old daughter, Skyla, were severely injured. In a Facebook post dated Aug. 5, Clark’s stepmother Tracey Griffen described their difficult recoveries and wrote that she was initially told at the hospital that “no one has ever survived an accident as bad.”
The police watchdog also previously confirmed that there was a separate crash involving an OPP cruiser before the crash involving the taxi, but said that incident did not fall under its mandate as there were no serious injuries.
The SIU says “the matter is now properly before the courts” and will not be making further comments. The SIU is an independent agency that investigates incidents involving police that have resulted in death, serious injury or alleged sexual assault.
Comments