Ontario’s police watchdog has discontinued an investigation into the death of a man in Brantford in July.
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While attempting to leave the hospital on May 30, the man was tackled to the ground by a Brantford Police Service officer, said a report issued on Friday by the Special Investigations Unit. The man was then released by police and he left the hospital later that day.
The report says the man was again in hospital on July 2 when he underwent surgery for ruptured spleen. He died after the surgery.
A doctor at the hospital who examined the man’s spleen noted multiple lacerations to the organ and concluded that blunt trauma couldn’t be ruled out as the cause of the rupture.
The SIU initiated an investigation to determine if the force used by police on May 30 was connected to the man’s death.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, SIU director Joseph Martino was satisfied the investigation should be discontinued, said the report.
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“The forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy on the man’s body was of the view that deaths due to undiagnosed or untreated blunt force trauma to the spleen happen within two to five days of the trauma being inflicted,” said the report. “On this record, Director Martino was not satisfied that there was sufficient casual connection between the police force of May 30, 2024 and the man’s acute medical crisis of July 2, 2024, to establish SIU jurisdiction. The file has been closed.”
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. Investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians.
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