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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 25 ,2 02 0 | 14 DE RANGO PHARMACY INC 2501 Third Line | 905-465-3000 Open 24 hours | 7 Days a Week DE RANGO PHARMACY INC 478 Dundas Street West | 905-257-9737 Canada Post www.shoppersdrugmart.ca Fabio De Rango Pharmacist/Owner Voted Oakville's Favourite Pharmacist & Pharmacy • Patient Counselling • Complete Diabetic Care • Home Visits • Consultations • Free RX Delivery • Patient Counselling • Complete Diabetic Care • Home Visits • Pharmacogenetics • Free RX Delivery An Award Winning Oakville Pharmacy PLATINUMWINNER Pharmacist - Fabio De Rango Drug Store/ Pharmacy Open 24 hours | 7 Days a Week www.concretetrimmings.com CONCRETE FREE ESTIMATES 905-844-5518 1-888-944-5518 uality At Its Best! Call Fernando 1-888-944-5518 www 1-888-944-5518 • DRIVEWAYS • FRENCH CURBS • PATIOS • STEPS • WALKWAYS • GARAGE FLOORS ExposEd aggrEgatE (pebble) Overhead Door Co. of Hamilton-Burlington™ ON NOW AT THE BRICK! SAVING YOU MORE For more details go instore or online @thebrick.com. Ontario's police watch- dog has determined there is no basis to lay criminal charges against a Halton police officer in connection with injuries received by a man who fell from an Oak- ville apartment balcony on Feb. 16. A report released in ear- ly June by Ontario Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Director Joseph Martino noted that shortly before 4 a.m., on Feb. 16, Halton po- lice were called to an apart- ment building in the Speers Road and Cross Av- enue area by a taxi driver who alleged a man had re- ceived a ride and not paid the fare. The taxi driver directed Halton police to the apart- ment he had seen the man enter. According to the SIU re- port, when police knocked at the door, the apartment owner, a friend of the indi- vidual police were looking for, opened the door and al- lowed the officers to enter. Martino said the 40- year-old suspect had con- sumed illicit substances and was in a highly agitat- ed state. "In and around the time that the subject officer en- tered the unit, the com- plainant fled through the sliding balcony doors onto the balcony and fell over the railing," wrote Marti- no. The report noted the man fell about six metres and broke multiple bones on impact. He was taken to Hamil- ton General Hospital and treated for serious head in- juries. The SIU, a civilian law enforcement agency which investigates incidents where someone is serious- ly injured during an inter- action with the police, as- signed four investigators and two forensic investiga- tors to this case. During the investiga- tion, they viewed surveil- lance camera footage from the area and interviewed civilian and police witness- es. Following this investi- gation, Martino deter- mined there was no basis for laying criminal charges against any of the officers present. "The subject officer and the witness officer were en- titled to respond to the unit to investigate the com- plainant's reported taxi fare evasion. The subject officer was only in the apartment for a matter of seconds before the com- plainant made it onto the balcony and fell from it to the ground below," said Martino in his decision. "While the presence of the subject officer and the witness officer may have served as the catalyst for the complainant's flight to, and over, the balcony, there is no question of any want of care on the part of the po- lice officers causing or con- tributing to the complain- ant's descent from a height." Martino also dismissed an apparent allegation that an officer had thrown the man from the balcony. "I am cognizant that some evidence suggests that the complainant was thrown over the railing during a physical alterca- tion with one of the offi- cers, but I cannot place any weight on such evidence," he said. "It is contradicted by ci- vilian witness evidence and the accounts of the offi- cers who indicate that no officer was on the balcony when the complainant fell. Other aspects of the in- criminatory evidence were also shown to be demon- strably false." SIU CLEARS HALTON OFFICER AFTER MAN FALLS FROM BALCONY DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM