The SIU has ended its investigation into the role police played in the death of a 28-year-old man in Guelph.
A security officer for the City of Guelph found the man unresponsive inside the railway station washroom on July 5.
Two Guelph Police officers arrived a short time later and performed CPR on the man.
One of them administered naloxone, a nasal spray to reverse an opioid overdose.
Paramedics then transported the man to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“The evidence is clear that none of the involved officers contributed to the man’s death in any way,” said SIU Director Tony Loparco in a release. “Accordingly, I have terminated the investigation into this incident.”
The SIU investigates all incidents involving police where there has been serious injury or death.
But the Guelph Police Association is calling for change.
Last month another officer was also cleared by the SIU after administering naloxone to a man suffering from a suspected opioid overdose. That man also died.
Matt Jotham, the Guelph Police Association President, says officers use CPR or naloxone to preserve life, calling the investigations a “costly, stressful, unnecessary and unfair practice.”
“It’s disappointing,” he says. “We are trying to do the best job we can.”
