SIU clears OPP officer after man drowns in Norfolk County’s Waterford Ponds

Ontario’s police watchdog says it has found “no reasonable grounds” to support criminal charges against an OPP officer in a drowning that took place in Waterford, Ont., over the summer.

The death took place on the evening of July 17 after police responded to reports of a man “being in mental distress and behaving erratically,” according to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

Officers had been sent to find and arrest the man on an outstanding warrant.

“As the officers approached, the man entered the Waterford Ponds and began to swim across,” said the SIU in their latest report on the matter.

“About halfway, the man began to struggle and call out for help.”

The SIU says two civilians entered the water in an effort to save the man, with an officer removing his uniform to join them. The officer swam to the middle of the pond, but the SIU says the man “had dipped beneath the surface of the water.”

Two officers then located a small rowboat and paddled to where the man had last been seen, searching the area for more than two hours, but failed to find him.

His body was recovered the following day and the SIU says he died from drowning.

The SIU did not identify the victim but said he was a 42-year-old man.

In an update shared on Friday afternoon, SIU director Joseph Martino said he had no reason to believe the officer who swam into the pond had committed a criminal offence, in particular, criminal negligence causing death, and has deemed the file closed.

“I am also satisfied that the officers comported themselves with due care and regard for the (man’s) health and welfare throughout their engagement with him,” said Martino in his analysis and decision attached to the investigation.

“On this record, it is apparent that the officers did nothing to contribute to the Complainant’s death, and much to attempt to prevent it.”

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