The Oshawa SIU investigation into the death of a 23-year-old woman at Lakeridge Health Oshawa has concluded, with Ontario’s police watchdog finding no reasonable grounds to believe an officer committed a criminal offence.
The Special Investigations Unit announced its decision on Aug. 21 following an investigation into the woman’s death on April 23, 2026.
The SIU became involved because the woman had been released from Durham Regional Police Service custody shortly before her death.
Woman Was Taken Back to Oshawa Hospital
According to the SIU Director’s report, the woman lived at a group home in Pickering and had been taken to Lakeridge Health Oshawa earlier on April 23 after expressing suicidal thoughts.
She was assessed in the emergency department but was not admitted under the Mental Health Act and left the hospital in the care of group-home staff.
While travelling back toward the group home, she again expressed an intention to harm herself.
Staff stopped near Simcoe Street North in Oshawa and contacted Durham police.
Officers responded, apprehended the woman under the Mental Health Act and transported her back to Lakeridge Health Oshawa for another assessment.
SIU Says Officer Sought Further Assessment
The SIU report indicates that the responding officer attempted to have the woman assessed again at the hospital.
After medical staff determined she would not be admitted, the officer ultimately released her from police custody.
Hospital security contacted police at approximately 10:56 p.m. after reporting that the woman was on the parking garage. Two minutes later, police communications indicated she had fallen and sustained catastrophic injuries. Emergency treatment was attempted, but she died.
The SIU measured the location of the incident as the seventh level of the hospital’s northern parking garage.
No Reasonable Grounds for Criminal Charge
SIU Director Joseph Martino reviewed witness interviews, police records, body-worn camera footage and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
He concluded there were no reasonable grounds to believe an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the death.
The SIU therefore closed the case without laying criminal charges against an officer.
The watchdog’s mandate in this case was specifically to investigate police conduct surrounding the woman’s custody and death. Its conclusion should not be interpreted as a broader finding about the actions of every person or organization involved.
The Oshawa SIU investigation had been underway since April 24, when the agency first announced that three investigators and one forensic investigator had been assigned to the case.
