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The director of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit sent Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau a scathing letter criticizing the “imprudent” actions of two officers involved in a downtown chase that ended in a crash that killed 24-year-old Alex Cross in April 2016.
The SIU concluded in May that there were no reasonable grounds for criminal charges against the officers. But in a sternly-worded letter to Bordeleau, acquired by the Citizen through freedom of information, SIU director Tony Loparco said the chase was in violation of the Ottawa Police Service’s own policy regarding suspect pursuits. The officers’ actions likely also ran afoul of Ontario Regulation 266/10 under the Police Services Act, he said.
“It is my hope that as Chief of the Ottawa Police Service, you will revisit the training that these two subject officers have received,” said Loparco in the letter.
The crash occurred after a brief high-speed chase around 1:15 a.m. on April 12, 2016 after a police officer tried to stop a Pontiac G6 in the ByWard Market. She sent a message over police radio indicating the license plate number and that the stop was for a provincial matter, also requesting the help of another officer.
About seven seconds after this message, she said over the radio: “He just took off.”
The pursuit started near Cumberland and George streets, but was soon called off by a senior officer. The pursuing police stopped near the intersection of Rideau and Chapel streets, about 700 metres from where the chase began.
There’s no question that the driver of the G6 showed “wanton and reckless disregard” for other people using the road, said Loparco in his letter. The driver continued to flee at high speed through multiple red lights for almost 1.5 km with no one in pursuit, travelling east over the Rideau River before making a right turn without slowing.
The G6 made a left turn against another red light before entering the intersection of McArthur Avenue and the Vanier Parkway, crashing into Cross’s Honda.
Alex Cross suffered head injuries in the crash and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He died the next day.
Cross and his 21-year-old female passenger were both thrown from the Accord as it rolled over and skidded down the road. Cross died the next day in the hospital. The woman also suffered serious injuries, but later recovered.
The driver of the G6, who suffered a serious head injury and a leg fracture, had to be extricated from his car. He died last December. No charges were laid, and his name has never been released.
The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates death, serious injury or sexual assault involving police. Four SIU investigators and two forensic investigators were assigned to the case. They interviewed nine civilian witnesses and five witness police officers in their probe of the incident.
Last May, the SIU concluded that there was “no basis whatsoever to hold either of the two subject officers responsible for the terrible outcomes of the motor vehicle collision.” The officers’ names have not been released.
However, the SIU can only find criminal fault, and its director usually sends a background letter to the chief of police in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred, outlining any other concerns the director has about the case.
In his letter, Loparco said the actions of the two officers “cannot be said to have causally contributed to the collision in a legal sense” However, without the quick-thinking intervention of a senior officer, the outcome could have been very different, he said.
At issue was the pursuing officers’ disregard for the Ottawa police’s own policy on suspect apprehension pursuits. The officer who initiated the pursuit was not conducting a criminal investigation and already had the licence plate number for the G6, said Loparco. He pointed out that the Ottawa police’s list of requirements for engaging in a pursuit includes an identified criminal offence; no other alternative for apprehension; a threat to public safety; the vehicles involved in the pursuit are marked and the police officers involved have successfully completed police college driver training and refresher every two years.
Loparco also lauded the actions of the senior officer who called off the pursuit 32 seconds after the first radio broadcast of the G6’s flight, terminating the pursuit and repeating the demand 17 seconds later.
“On contrast with the two subject officers, he acted with responsibility, diligence and intelligence, and with a clear awareness of Ottawa Police Service policy and Ontario legislation,” Loparco wrote.
“I commend him for his commitment to public safety. I am also hopeful that the officers under his command appreciate that his directions insulated them from criminal jeopardy in these circumstances. Their imprudent actions could well have grounded dangerous driving or criminal negligence charges if they had persisted in a pursuit that should never have happened in the first place.”
In a statement sent in response to a request for an interview with Bordeleau, the Ottawa Police Service said its Suspect Apprehension Pursuit policy was developed in conjunction with provincial guidelines that all Ontario police services must follow. All officers involved in pursuits must have successfully completed a course in pursuit driver training approved by the Ontario Police College and complete refresher training every two years.
The Ottawa Police Service conducts an investigation to determine whether there were any policy breaches or contraventions of the Police Services Act in every case where the SIU has closed an investigation with no criminal charges. Commonly called Section 11 investigations, one is currently underway to determine whether there is evidence that any OPS policies were contravened, added the statement.
“We will not be commenting on the matter until the Professional Standards Section has completed its investigation.”
Loparco declined a request for an interview.
SIU spokesman Jason Gennaro said Loparco sends letters to police chiefs at the conclusion of its investigations. The nature and extent of information in news releases and in the letters may be different because the SIU must consider the impact of public disclosure on the integrity of parallel legal proceedings or investigations, privacy concerns, and the SIU’s policy of extending confidentiality assurances to its witnesses, he said.
Matt Skoff, president of the Ottawa Police Association, said he could not comment on the case.
“Tony Loparco has many times made accusations against members of police departments. But there are other factors involved,” he said.
If there are questions about an officer’s actions in terms of the Ontario Police Act, a police chief or a family member can request an investigation by the Office Of Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), which is responsible for receiving, managing and overseeing public complaints about police in Ontario.
As it stands, there is no legislative mechanism for the SIU to notify OIPRD about concerns over misconduct or neglect of duty involving police, said Gennaro. In recent consultations with Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch, who led an independent review of police oversight in the province, the SIU recommended that it be made a “direct complainant” to OIPRD or the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.
With files from Tyler Dawson
jlaucius@postmedia.com
查看原文...
The SIU concluded in May that there were no reasonable grounds for criminal charges against the officers. But in a sternly-worded letter to Bordeleau, acquired by the Citizen through freedom of information, SIU director Tony Loparco said the chase was in violation of the Ottawa Police Service’s own policy regarding suspect pursuits. The officers’ actions likely also ran afoul of Ontario Regulation 266/10 under the Police Services Act, he said.
“It is my hope that as Chief of the Ottawa Police Service, you will revisit the training that these two subject officers have received,” said Loparco in the letter.
The crash occurred after a brief high-speed chase around 1:15 a.m. on April 12, 2016 after a police officer tried to stop a Pontiac G6 in the ByWard Market. She sent a message over police radio indicating the license plate number and that the stop was for a provincial matter, also requesting the help of another officer.
About seven seconds after this message, she said over the radio: “He just took off.”
The pursuit started near Cumberland and George streets, but was soon called off by a senior officer. The pursuing police stopped near the intersection of Rideau and Chapel streets, about 700 metres from where the chase began.
There’s no question that the driver of the G6 showed “wanton and reckless disregard” for other people using the road, said Loparco in his letter. The driver continued to flee at high speed through multiple red lights for almost 1.5 km with no one in pursuit, travelling east over the Rideau River before making a right turn without slowing.
The G6 made a left turn against another red light before entering the intersection of McArthur Avenue and the Vanier Parkway, crashing into Cross’s Honda.
Alex Cross suffered head injuries in the crash and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He died the next day.
Cross and his 21-year-old female passenger were both thrown from the Accord as it rolled over and skidded down the road. Cross died the next day in the hospital. The woman also suffered serious injuries, but later recovered.
The driver of the G6, who suffered a serious head injury and a leg fracture, had to be extricated from his car. He died last December. No charges were laid, and his name has never been released.
The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates death, serious injury or sexual assault involving police. Four SIU investigators and two forensic investigators were assigned to the case. They interviewed nine civilian witnesses and five witness police officers in their probe of the incident.
Last May, the SIU concluded that there was “no basis whatsoever to hold either of the two subject officers responsible for the terrible outcomes of the motor vehicle collision.” The officers’ names have not been released.
However, the SIU can only find criminal fault, and its director usually sends a background letter to the chief of police in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred, outlining any other concerns the director has about the case.
In his letter, Loparco said the actions of the two officers “cannot be said to have causally contributed to the collision in a legal sense” However, without the quick-thinking intervention of a senior officer, the outcome could have been very different, he said.
At issue was the pursuing officers’ disregard for the Ottawa police’s own policy on suspect apprehension pursuits. The officer who initiated the pursuit was not conducting a criminal investigation and already had the licence plate number for the G6, said Loparco. He pointed out that the Ottawa police’s list of requirements for engaging in a pursuit includes an identified criminal offence; no other alternative for apprehension; a threat to public safety; the vehicles involved in the pursuit are marked and the police officers involved have successfully completed police college driver training and refresher every two years.
Loparco also lauded the actions of the senior officer who called off the pursuit 32 seconds after the first radio broadcast of the G6’s flight, terminating the pursuit and repeating the demand 17 seconds later.
“On contrast with the two subject officers, he acted with responsibility, diligence and intelligence, and with a clear awareness of Ottawa Police Service policy and Ontario legislation,” Loparco wrote.
“I commend him for his commitment to public safety. I am also hopeful that the officers under his command appreciate that his directions insulated them from criminal jeopardy in these circumstances. Their imprudent actions could well have grounded dangerous driving or criminal negligence charges if they had persisted in a pursuit that should never have happened in the first place.”
In a statement sent in response to a request for an interview with Bordeleau, the Ottawa Police Service said its Suspect Apprehension Pursuit policy was developed in conjunction with provincial guidelines that all Ontario police services must follow. All officers involved in pursuits must have successfully completed a course in pursuit driver training approved by the Ontario Police College and complete refresher training every two years.
The Ottawa Police Service conducts an investigation to determine whether there were any policy breaches or contraventions of the Police Services Act in every case where the SIU has closed an investigation with no criminal charges. Commonly called Section 11 investigations, one is currently underway to determine whether there is evidence that any OPS policies were contravened, added the statement.
“We will not be commenting on the matter until the Professional Standards Section has completed its investigation.”
Loparco declined a request for an interview.
SIU spokesman Jason Gennaro said Loparco sends letters to police chiefs at the conclusion of its investigations. The nature and extent of information in news releases and in the letters may be different because the SIU must consider the impact of public disclosure on the integrity of parallel legal proceedings or investigations, privacy concerns, and the SIU’s policy of extending confidentiality assurances to its witnesses, he said.
Matt Skoff, president of the Ottawa Police Association, said he could not comment on the case.
“Tony Loparco has many times made accusations against members of police departments. But there are other factors involved,” he said.
If there are questions about an officer’s actions in terms of the Ontario Police Act, a police chief or a family member can request an investigation by the Office Of Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), which is responsible for receiving, managing and overseeing public complaints about police in Ontario.
As it stands, there is no legislative mechanism for the SIU to notify OIPRD about concerns over misconduct or neglect of duty involving police, said Gennaro. In recent consultations with Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch, who led an independent review of police oversight in the province, the SIU recommended that it be made a “direct complainant” to OIPRD or the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.
With files from Tyler Dawson
jlaucius@postmedia.com
查看原文...
