Kingston Police officer cleared of any wrongdoing by SIU
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Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared a Kingston Police officer who tried to stop a man from jumping off a parking garage earlier this year.
“While the (subject officer’s) presence may have been the final catalyst for the complainant’s fateful decision, the officer stands blameless,” Joseph Martino, director of the Special Investigations Unit, wrote in his analysis of the case.
“He was doing as he should be doing — responding to the scene of a person in distress, hoping to prevent harm and maintain public safety.”
The Special Investigations Unit is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving police when there has been a death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault.
The report explains that just before 7 a.m. on March 22, a passerby saw a man on the ledge of the Chown Memorial Garage at 197 Brock St. and called 911. The Kingston Police officer involved arrived and stopped his marked cruiser on Brock Street, less than a minute later. He was only able to call up, “Hey man,” to the man before he stepped off the ledge.
The officer radioed for help and immediately started CPR. He continued his efforts for five minutes before Kingston Fire and Rescue arrived and took over. The man was still breathing when the police officer radioed for paramedics to “step it up.”
Paramedics rushed the man to Kingston General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few minutes later.
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