The provincial police watchdog says there are "reasonable grounds" to suggest a Hamilton cop broke the rules of the highway traffic act when she hit a senior in a crosswalk — yet no criminal charges are being laid.
A Special Investigations Unit (SIU) ruling on the incident, which was released Friday afternoon, stems from when a 74-year-old woman was crossing the intersection at King Street West and Dundurn Street South back in 2016.
According to the SIU, the elderly woman had the right of way at the time to be in the intersection when the officer hit her with her cruiser. The woman was taken to hospital, where x-rays showed she had suffered a knee joint fracture.
"Whether or not it was prudent for a 74-year-old woman to attempt to cross five lanes of traffic in a situation where she felt she had to rush to get across the road safely is another matter altogether; suffice it to say, the law required the [officer] to ensure that the way was clear before she attempted her left turn and to yield the right of way to any persons lawfully crossing the street in the marked portion for pedestrians," SIU director Tony Loparco wrote in his decision.
"It is clear on all of the evidence that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the [officer] contravened one or more of the provisions of the HTA," he said.
There is insufficient evidence to form reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence has been committed and there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case.- Tony Loparco, SIU director
But Loparco also noted that the purpose of the SIU's investigation was to determine whether or not the officer's actions rose to the level of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
On that count, he says, the officer's actions don't meet the threshold of a criminal act. He said the cop was going at a reasonable rate of speed, the roads were dry at the time, and the weather was clear.
"Although, for whatever reason, the [officer] failed to make her left turn in safety and thus struck the Complainant, presumably due to a momentary lack of attention towards other users of the roadway, I cannot find that there is any evidence, other than the collision, that the driving by the [officer] rose to the level of driving," he wrote.
"As such, I find that there is insufficient evidence to form reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence has been committed and there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case."
Loparco also noted that the officer who hit the woman refused to speak with the SIU, or provide her notes to investigators, as is her legal right under the Police Services Act.
Hamilton police spokesperson Const. Lorraine Edwards said police are currently reviewing files from the investigation to determine if highway traffic act or police act charges are warranted.