A probe by the Special Investigations Unit has cleared Ottawa Police from suspicion of criminal wrongdoing regarding a Centretown murder-suicide in January.
Police received a 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance early Jan. 7. Five police officers went to the 446 Cambridge Street apartment of Ashley Boudreau, 24, and Andrew Ferguson, 33, around 4:30 a.m.
They did not enter the apartment, but reportedly saw Boudreau outside the building and spoke with neighbours. They left at 5:11 a.m., when it appeared that the scene was calm and quiet.
Autopsies concluded that within hours, Boudreau killed Ferguson then committed suicide. Their bodies were found by police on Jan. 16 when they were called back to the same apartment.
The SIU was then notified by Ottawa Police Chief Vern White about the situation. The probe looked at the police’s policy to force entry into a home. Criminal charges could have been laid against the police officers for handling the situation incorrectly.
“On the totality of the evidence, I am satisfied that the subject officer's failure to force entry in these circumstances did not amount to a marked and substantial departure from the level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised,” said SIU Director Ian Scott in a release. “The focus of the SIU inquiry is not that any officer directly caused either of their deaths; clearly, they did not.”
The SIU investigates any incidents involving police officers that result in serious injury, allegations of sexual assault, or death.
The Ottawa Police Professional Standards Section will be completing its own investigation into the issue.