The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has found no wrongdoing on the part of Barrie police following a man's overdose, and subsequent hospitalization, at a south-end drug store last month.
SIU director Joseph Martino announced Wednesday that he has terminated the investigation after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a 23-year-old man.
According to the SIU, on April 6, 2022, the man broke into an Essa Road drug store. Barrie police officers were alerted and responded to the location. They located the man in the basement of the business and placed him in custody.
Shortly after his arrest, the SIU says the man admitted to taking sedatives. Paramedics were called and took him to hospital where he was diagnosed with a drug overdose.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary investigation, which included a review of video footage, Martino found it was "plain and obvious" that there was nothing to investigate as far as the potential criminal liability of any officer regarding the man’s drug overdose.
The officers neither did, nor failed to do, anything that caused or contributed to the man’s condition, Martino said.
The SIU is an arm’s-length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
