Ottawa police cleared of wrongdoing in falling death of Anthony Aust

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has cleared all Ottawa police officers of criminal wrongdoing in the falling death of 23-year-old Anthony Aust last October.

The SIU, which investigates incidents involving police where there is death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault, released its final report into the death Thursday. It found Aust tried to flee police apprehension when he first threw a baggie of drugs out the window, and then jumped 12 storeys from a bunk bed in his bedroom.

"There are no reasonable grounds to believe that the involved officers, including the three subject officers, contributed to the complainant's death by way of criminal negligence," SIU director Joseph Martino wrote.

Aust's death, and the tactics used by police, have come under much public scrutiny. For the past 11 months, his family and community groups have questioned whether the raid and specifically a practice called "dynamic entry" was necessary in a high-rise apartment building.

The entry remains a legal technique for officers to use in Ontario. Once a warrant is approved by a judge, it remains up to police discretion to decide what kind of entry they will use.

WATCH | Surveillance video of 'dynamic entry' in October 2020:

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