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No charges against Windsor police officer involved in motorcycle chase, SIU rules

No charges against Windsor police officer involved in motorcycle chase, SIU rules

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit says there will be no charges against a Windsor police officer, who chased speeding motorcyclists who eventually crashed on Riverside Drive.

The investigation determined three motorcyclists were caught speeding on Ouellette Avenue around midnight Sept. 23, 2015. After two Windsor police officers tried to pull them over, they sped away.

During the chase, the motorcyclists drove away at speeds well over 100 km/h and the officers lost sight of the motorcycles. Two motorcyclists collided with each other at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Riverside Drive, the investigation found.

One of the motorcyclists broke his ankle, the other wasn't seriously injured.

Joseph Martino, the acting director of the SIU, said in a news release the officers were "well within their rights" when they first began to follow the motorcyclists and did not act recklessly.

"I find there was very little if anything the officers did wrong," Martino said in the release. "Given the speeds of the motorcycles and the manner in which they were being operated, the officers were well within their rights when they first began to follow and then attempt to stop the motorcyclists."

The investigation found the police never drove at speeds higher than 90 km/h in the short pursuit and there are "no reasonable grounds to proceed with charges in this case."