‘No reasonable grounds’ for criminal charge, SIU concludes following investigation into serious Kitchener crash

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has concluded an investigation into a Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) officer following a serious collision back in July.

The original incident took place on July 26, when an officer attempted to stop a vehicle in Kitchener on Victoria Street South, with the vehicle then speeding away. The officer sped up momentarily in an attempt to catch up to the vehicle, but stopped just past the Walnut Street intersection.

The complainant kept driving past Victoria Street South at high speeds, moving past the King Street intersections before colliding with a van in the opposite lane.

When the officer arrived on the scene, they attempted to provide aid to the occupants of the two vehicles ahead of paramedic arrival.

The 30-year-old driver of the speeding vehicle was wanted on an arrest warrant for failure to comply with a probation order and suffered a fractured scapula and finger, a right lung contusion, and a liver laceration in the collision.

The SIU launched its investigation due to the serious nature of the driver’s injuries and, in a new release, the SIU states Director Joseph Martino saw “no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the collision”