SIU charges OPP officer over Caledon East arrest injury

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has charged an Ontario Provincial Police officer with assault causing bodily harm after a man was seriously injured during an arrest in Caledon East last December. The charge has not been tested in court.

SIU Director Joseph Martino said he has reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence, according to a news release the agency issued on Oct. 30, 2026. The charge is laid under section 267(b) of the Criminal Code. The officer is due to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Orangeville on Nov. 26, 2026.

The SIU said police were called on Dec. 26, 2025, about a dispute outside a residence in Caledon East. Officers arrested a man for uttering threats. While an officer was handcuffing him, the SIU said, “there was an interaction that resulted in the man suffering a serious injury.” The release does not describe the injury or the interaction in further detail.

The agency opened its investigation on Feb. 4, 2026, the same day the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency notified it of the incident. That is more than five weeks after the arrest, which means the case reached the SIU through the province’s police complaints body rather than through an immediate report from police.

The SIU said it will not comment further because the matter is before the courts and in consideration of the accused officer’s fair trial interests. The OPP’s position on the charge was not included in the SIU release, and the allegation has not been proven.

The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates incidents involving police that result in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person. The director must decide whether grounds exist for a criminal charge or close the file. Anyone affected by an incident under SIU investigation can reach its Affected Persons Program at 1-877-641-1897.

Charges against officers are far less common than closed files. The SIU also announced this week that it had charged a Halton Regional Police sergeant over a 2025 pursuit, while concluding in other cases that there were no reasonable grounds to charge, including a Sudbury arrest that left a man with a fractured collarbone.

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