Ontario’s police oversight body has ended its investigation into the death of a father from the Ottawa area, but points to “misconduct” by officers from the Ottawa police in this incident.
On January 23, a crash involving one vehicle occurred on a rural stretch of Bank Street close to Vernon, north of Winchester. This took place during a snowstorm, and when officers arrived at the scene, they were unable to locate the driver and subsequently left.
The next morning, they returned after receiving a call from someone reporting that a man hadn’t come home. That’s when they discovered the body of a 24-year-old man partially covered in snow in a ditch.
Joseph Martino, director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), stated that there “appeared to be evidence of misconduct by the officers who initially attended the scene in connection with their investigation of the collision.”
This matter falls under Section 19 of the Police Code of Conduct, which Martino indicated is being sent to Ottawa police chief Eric Stubbs for further examination. This section emphasizes that officers “shall not, by act or omission, fail to perform their duties appropriately without lawful excuse.”
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SIU Closes Case
The SIU report outlines evidence collected following the incident and describes what led to Cole Misner-Nell’s death as identified by his family. Martino expressed satisfaction that no officer caused or contributed to this tragic outcome and deemed it appropriate for the investigation to be closed. According to information from the watchdog agency, on that night, a Dodge Caravan was heading southbound on Bank Street. Just five seconds before crashing, it was traveling at approximately 170 km/h near Morningside Avenue-over twice the legal speed limit. The vehicle lost control and veered into oncoming traffic before striking an east-side ditch filled with snow. “The man was ejected from the vehicle and suffered catastrophic injuries that resulted in his death. The time was about 8:20 p. m.,” noted the report. Authorities also mentioned that at the time of impact, Misner-Nell had more than double the legal blood alcohol concentration level. An hour later, another motorist stopped and called for help, prompting police officers to return to search again. According to SIU details, they spent about 45 minutes looking for signs of life before leaving since they could not find anyone. “At autopsy, the pathologist attributed the man’s death to multiple blunt force injuries and explained that given these injuries’ nature, he would have been deceased by then first responders arrived at the scene,” stated their findings. Misner-Nell was engaged and had two young children. His family told City News they are “shattered” over his passing and started a fundraiser for support during this tough time. The SIU looks into incidents resulting in serious injury or death during interactions with law enforcement agencies. A photo of Cole Misner-Nell. (Contributed) Keep it Factual Add City News Ottawa as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.Source link
