NEWS RELEASE
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT
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Mississauga, ON (22 February, 2019) - On the morning of Oct. 3, 2018, York Regional Police was notified of a 47-year-old woman who no longer wanted to live, and wanted police officers to shoot her. Officers were dispatched to an area in Keswick.
When the officers located the woman in a motor vehicle, she retrieved a machete from her vehicle and shouted at the officers to kill her. The woman then fled through a forested area and exited onto a residential street. Upon locating the woman, one officer discharged his ARWEN (Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield), striking the woman in one knee.
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges in this case.
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. Under the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU must:
- consider whether an officer has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, lay a criminal charge against the officer if appropriate or close the file without any charges being laid
- report the results of any investigations to the Attorney General.
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