KINGSTON, Ont. - Ontario's police watchdog says no charges are warranted against a Kingston, Ont., police officer who chased a vehicle that plunged into Lake Ontario last year, killing the 35-year-old driver.
The Special Investigations Unit says that shortly after midnight on May 27, 2016, two officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at a home in the city's west end.
They say a female resident gave the officers information that caused them to fear for the safety of a man, who left the home in an SUV, and others.
The SIU says an officer found the SUV near the home and started to follow the vehicle. A short time after, the officer turned on the emergency lights and began chasing the SUV - at one point clocking more than 140 km/h before being ordered to stop the pursuit.
In a news release Wednesday, the agency says the SUV continued speeding for more than a kilometre before plunging into the lake.
An OPP dive team recovered the man's body from the lake about 12 hours later and the SIU says an autopsy confirmed that he drowned.
“In the final analysis, in the context of a relatively brief pursuit of about two minutes over roughly four kilometres, I am satisfied there is little if any fault to be found in the subject officer's conduct, and no grounds for proceeding with criminal charges against him,” SIU director Tony Loparco said in a statement.
The SIU is an arm's length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been a death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
