SIU clears Ottawa police officer after woman’s fall from Nepean balcony

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit logo is seen in this undated file image.

Ontario’s police watchdog says an Ottawa police officer committed no wrongdoing after a woman was seriously injured in a fall from her Nepean balcony last autumn.

According to the Special Investigations Unit, officers were called to a Nepean apartment building on reports of a domestic disturbance on Sept. 27, 2022. They found a 28-year-old woman on her balcony, about four metres above ground level, saying she no longer wished to live.

The officer urged her not to jump and placed a garbage bin under the balcony to cushion her fall, a news release says.

The woman then fell from the balcony into the bin, fracturing her left elbow.

“It was obvious that the officer did nothing to cause or contribute to the woman’s fall. Accordingly, there being patently nothing to investigate as far as the officer’s potential criminal liability was concerned, the file has been closed,” the SIU said Monday.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.