London cop responsible, but not criminally, for hitting cyclist: Police watchdog
CBC
A London police officer has been found not to have committed a criminal offence by the province's police watchdog after hitting a cyclist with her cruiser and causing serious injuries in December.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released a statement Friday afternoon, saying that the watchdog's director found no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a crime.
The ruling stems from an incident on Dec. 7, when an officer struck a cyclist while driving a police vehicle near York and William Streets in downtown London.
The 57-year-old cyclist was taken to hospital by paramedics with a fractured nose and left orbital bone, which are injuries police describe as serious.
The cyclist was released from hospital the next day.
The SIU was called shortly after the collision and issued a public request for witnesses.
In the ruling, SIU officials wrote it was apparent that the officer was to blame for the collision, as the cyclist had the right of way, and the officer should have yielded instead of taking the left turn that caused the collision.
"But, director Martino said he was not satisfied that the officer's conduct amounted to a marked departure from a reasonable standard of care in the circumstances," the ruling read.
"The case law suggests that something more than an isolated or momentary lapse of care will ordinarily be required to attract criminal liability," it went on to say.
"Why she acted as she did is not entirely clear as the officer did not agree an interview with the SIU, as was her legal right," Martino wrote in his analysis
The SIU probes incidents across Ontario in which someone is hurt or killed during an interaction with police.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.