Special Investigations Unit clears Stratford officer who 'fell short' of his duty in connection to death of 18-month-old

A decision handed down by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) ruled a Stratford police officer who “fell short in his duty of care” will not be criminally prosecuted in connection to the death of a toddler who was “failing to thrive.”

The SIU handed down the decision on Tuesday, with Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, finding no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence in connection to the death of an 18-month-old boy on Feb. 16 of 2021.

The report indicated Martino sought to determine if the information available to Stratford police 35 days before the toddler died could have been used to prevent the toddler’s death in the days before he passed away.

The SIU looked at whether the officer had committed criminal negligence causing death under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Stratford police notified the SIU in the morning of Feb. 16, 2021, saying the Stratford Police Service was commencing an investigation into the toddler’s sudden death, and after reviewing records, were aware as of Jan. 12, 2021, of concerns regarding the treatment and neglect of the toddler.

The SIU incident narrative from the report – which is a scenario based on the evidence collected by the SIU – says officers were aware the toddler looked “really malnourished”, and was being ignored when crying and force-fed to go to sleep. The report also stated that the parents were reported to be drug users.

The matter was not reported to the child welfare authorities, and the SIU had no evidence to suggest a wellness check had been made either.

“The information he was aware of was alarming to say the least. It also appears to have been actionable – the perpetrators of the maltreatment were identified as the parents of the child and described by their first names,” the analysis from Martino says in the report.

He goes on to say: “An online search performed by an SIU investigator was able to find the approximate location of their home in fairly short order, and persons interviewed by the SIU who resided in the area were all well aware of the suspects and the predicament of the child.”

Martino’s analysis says despite this, it would be unfair to say the officer did nothing with the information and it was decided that they would wait until they had obtained more information before determining their next course of action.

“No one stepped forward with any useful information. A crime analyst with the police service was engaged but she could find no links between what was known and other information in police records,” the report says.

CHILD CARE EXPERT WEIGHS INTO INVESTIGATION

According to the SIU report, a child care expert was provided with a copy of the toddler’s post-mortem report and made aware Stratford police had information 35 days before the toddler’s death relating to his welfare.

The SIU proposed to the expert whether the outcome would have been different had there been intervention or action taken by the police.

“The expert believed that intervention by SPS officers on January 12, 2021, would have taken the form of intervention or apprehension by the Children’s Aid Society and the removal of the baby to the emergency department of a hospital. If not the hospital, then at a minimum, the baby should have been seen by a family doctor. He believed that CAS would have ensured that the baby was seen by a medical professional,” the SIU report reads in part.

The expert told the SIU, according to the post-mortem report the 18-month-old has been seen by a doctor three weeks before their death. The expert was given a report from the doctor which referred the toddler to a pediatrician because of the “clear lack of growth and weight gain, and malnutrition.”

“The expert felt that based on the baby’s measurements at the time of the visit, a referral to Children Aid Society could and maybe should have been considered,” the report reads.

“The expert wondered what the family doctor was told by the parents at the time of the visit that caused the doctor not to call Children Aid Service.”

The report continues: “Not knowing what information was provided to the SPS, the expert could not comment on whether or not there were grounds for the SPS to have apprehended the baby. Had there not been a visit to the family doctor, then inaction by SPS could have been a contributing factor, but it was difficult for him to say if it would have prevented the death. The Complainant was “failing to thrive”, which was what health professionals called chronic malnutrition.”

In the end, Martino found there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law, there is no basis for proceeding with charges against the officer.