Waterloo Regional Police have been cleared of wrongdoing by Ontario’s police watchdog after a man was injured during a police pursuit in Cambridge in May.
Back on May 17, a 42-year-old man allegedly stole a transport truck from the ONroute located off the north side of Highway 401 in Cambridge, according to the Special Investigations Unit.
The SIU’s report indicates that the man drove out of the ONroute and onto the highway, where he travelled a few kilometres before he exited at Townline Road.
As he was exiting the highway, the SIU says he realized that he had a police cruiser following behind, and then proceeded to jump out of the still-moving truck, when he was injured.
According to the SIU, the officer saw what happened, immediately parked his cruiser, and went to help the injured man.
“Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, including a review of video footage that captured the incident, Director (Joseph) Martino was satisfied the investigation should be discontinued,” a release from the SIU noted.
“On this record, there was patently nothing to investigate as far as the officer’s potential criminal liability was concerned. The man was alone responsible for his self-inflicted injury.”
The SIU is an independent agency that investigates incidents involving police that have resulted in death, serious injury or alleged sexual assault.