According to a report issued by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), on the morning of February 16, 2021, first responders were dispatched to an address on Downie Street in Stratford. As CTV News London reported in February 2021, when first responders arrived at the residence, they discovered an 18-month-old boy in medical distress. CPR was performed and the child was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Several weeks earlier, Stratford Police had information raising concerns about the child’s welfare and “Because of this information, the question arose as to whether the police could have intervened to prevent his death in the days before he died,” it says the exhibition. An investigation began soon after with this question in mind. In his ruling, SIU Director Joseph Martino “found no reasonable basis to believe that a Stratford Police (SPS) officer committed a criminal offense in relation to the tragic death of an 18-month-old boy in February 2021.” Martino, however, ruled that the officer failed in his duty of care to the child. The SIU is an independent authority responsible for investigating the conduct of officials, such as the police, that has resulted in the death, serious injury, sexual assault or discharge of a weapon at another person.
