The province’s Special Investigations Unit has dropped its probe into an incident in which a man fell down an embankment and fractured his ribs during a traffic stop on a Mississauga highway.

In releasing its decision to terminate the investigation, the SIU said on Monday the Ontario Provincial Police officer involved in the Oct. 11 incident on Highway 407 did nothing to cause the 36-year-old man’s injuries.

The SIU, which is called in whenever there’s a serious injury or death during interactions between members of the public and police officers, said an OPP officer pulled over a westbound vehicle in the morning hours on the toll highway at Mavis Road for a Highway Traffic Act violation.

After approaching the car, “the officer observed an unsealed bag containing suspected cannabis on the front centre console and formed grounds to search the vehicle,” the provincial watchdog agency said in releasing its decision to drop the matter.

“While the officer was searching the trunk area, a vehicle passenger climbed over a highway guardrail and ran down an embankment,” the SIU continued. “He tripped and fell. He was transported to the detachment, where he reported chest pain and difficulty breathing. EMS transported the man to hospital, where he was diagnosed with multiple left-sided rib fractures.”

The SIU added that based on its preliminary inquiries, which included a review of video footage that captured the incident, SIU Deputy Director Stacey O’Brien was satisfied that the investigation should be discontinued.

The man’s injuries were not caused by police actions, the agency noted.

“No force was used by police beyond the application of handcuffs incidental to arrest,” the SIU said. “The available evidence indicates that the man sustained his injuries as a result of a fall while attempting to flee from police. It was plain and obvious that the police did nothing that could conceivably attract criminal liability in connection with the man’s injuries.”


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