A former senior adviser on Indigenous justice issues to the Ontario government believes an inquiry is needed into the province’s Special Investigations Unit’s handling of an investigation involving Belleville police officers.
According to a CBC News report published November 9, 2023 the SIU notified the Belleville Police Service it would not investigate an incident involving suspected shoplifting from Lowe’s Home Improvement store in November of 2019 a few days after the incident occurred.
In that incident Mario Baptiste Jr. of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory was injured during an arrest at a Taco Bell outlet.
Some 13 months later the SIU did launch an investigation eventually leading to assault causing bodily harm charges against Constables Kyle Dodds, Paul Fyke, and Jeffrey Smith.
Recently the charge against Dodds was withdrawn but Fyke and Smith remain before the court and Justice Patrick Hurley.
Closing arguments in the case are to be made November 16 in a Belleville courtroom.
Stan Jolly, a now-retired civil servant and former senior adviser on Indigenous justice issues with Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General, told CBC News that usually an SIU investigation begins very soon after any incident, however, such a long delay in the Belleville case leads to questions that need to be answered.
