SIU clears Cobourg OPP in Cramahe man’s death

Photo by Dan Jones, CFWN, LJI

By: Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

The Special Investigations Unit of Ontario has cleared the Northumberland OPP of any wrongdoing in the in-custody death of a 28-year-old man.

Provincial police were called to a home in Cramahe Township on May 24, 2026 for a requested welfare check. Officers were advised by a family member who had reported the man had facial injuries, a swollen face, and black eyes. When authorities attended the home just after 7 p.m., they located the man and learned he had suffered a seizure in the garage. Police claim the man told them he had fallen, as he did not take his prescribed medication that day.

Officers found the man had visible facial issues and he was arrested without incident for alleged release order violations, and held for a bail hearing.

The man was taken to Northumberland Hills Hospital for an assessment, on the recommendation of paramedics, concerned of his medical condition.

There he underwent a CT scan, prescribed two more medications, cleared from treatment and discharged back into the custody of the OPP.

While in police cells in Cobourg, the man was checked approximately every 15 minutes, and appeared to have slept on the cell bench for nine hours, as seen on video. Just before 10 a.m. the next morning, the man is observed using the toilet, and turning his back to the camera, where SIU investigators state he reached into the toilet, but could not definitively say what was happening.

A short while later, the man ate breakfast and again laid on the cell bench. The report states, a few minutes later, the man began to show signs of a seizure and began confulsing, falling off the bench and on to the floor. Officers entered the cell, called for paramedics and began providing care. However, while the man initially appeared responsive, he allegedly experienced another seizure.

Just after 10:30 a.m., paramedics transported him back to hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.

SIU Director Joseph Martino found that officers acted appropriately, and “that the officers themselves with due care and regard for the man’s health and wellbeing as they promptly responded to his cell to render care pending the arrival of paramedics.”