SIU invokes mandate in Sioux Lookout

Tim Brody - Editor

Ontario Provincial Police have notified the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) following an incident on July 30 in Sioux Lookout and say the SIU has invoked its mandate.
OPP shared in an Aug. 1 media release, “On Wednesday, July 30, 2025, members of the Sioux Lookout Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to reports of an intoxicated male. The individual was placed under arrest and transported to the Sioux Lookout OPP Detachment where he was lodged in cells. 
“While in police custody, the individual sustained an injury and was subsequently transported to the local hospital for treatment.”
“The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency in Ontario that has jurisdiction over municipal, regional and provincial police officers, as well as police officers with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, special constables employed by the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service. Anyone the SIU is mandated to investigate is referred to as an ‘official’. The SIU Director may cause a criminal investigation to be conducted into any incident in which any of the following occurs, if the incident may have resulted from criminal conduct by an official:
•    The death of a person.
•    The serious injury of a person.
•    The discharge of a firearm at a person.
•    The sexual assault of a person, as reported by the person.
“The Unit is independent of any police service and operates at arm’s length from the Ministry of the Attorney General,” the SIU’s website explains.