An analysis of data from civilian police watchdogs in Canada shows that most of their investigations do not result in charges against officers. They may be taken to mean that watchdogs cast wide nets in their investigations and officers in most cases were justified in their use of force. They're a welcome addition to police oversight, given that the alternative sees police or watchdogs from outside jurisdictions conduct investigations, Laming said. Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) closed 416 cases in 2018 and charged officers in 15 of them. In the vast majority of cases, officers were not charged and Palmer said that shows they operated legally.

Source: CBC News July 03, 2020 15:33 UTC