Brantford drowning death once again subject of SIU investigation

The Grand River is seen in Brantford, Ont., following a drowning death on Jan. 20, 2009.

For the second time in as many weeks, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has announced plans to take a second look at an incident involving Brantford Police.

On Jan. 20, 2009, a struggle ensued between the officer and 32-year-old Oakville resident Benjamin Wood after the officer followed a set of shoeprints from a stolen car to the Grand River banks, near the Brantford Casino.

According to the SIU, Wood walked out onto the river’s ice despite police telling him not to, and then fell through the ice.

A post-mortem examination found that he died of drowning and hypothermia.

The SIU investigated the incident at the time, concluding that no police officers committed a criminal offence during the incident.

Last week, the SIU reopened its investigation into the case of 18-year-old Evan Jones, who was shot dead by a Brantford Police officer responding to a domestic incident.