A Brantford police officer has been cleared of any wrong doing in the Aug. 22, 2023 arrest of a 25-year-old woman who suffered a broken arm while being taken into custody.
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“On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the subject officer (SO) committed a criminal offense in connection with the complainant’s arrest and injury,” Joseph Martino, director of the province’s Special Investigations Unit, said in a postponement.
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Martino said he is satisfied that the force used by the officer and other officers who helped with the arrest of the complainant was legally justified.
“When the complainant struggled with the officers as they intervened following her assault on witness officer 3, they were entitled to resort to a measure of force to press their objective,” Martino said. “They did so, it seems to me, in a proportionate way – wrestling to take control of the complainant and taking her to the ground where they could expect to better manage her continuing resistance.
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“No strikes of any kind were delivered by the officers.”
The incident began at about 12:30 am on Aug. 22 when police received a 911 call about a male and a female fighting inside a vehicle on Peel Street.
When police arrived the male had left the area and officers attempted to arrest the female – the complainant – for having care and control of a vehicle while intoxicated.
A struggle ensued and the complainant was eventually taken into custody with what appeared to be a fractured left arm. She was subsequently taken to hospital by paramedics and it was confirmed that she had suffered a broken arm.
“It remains unclear exactly how the complainant’s left arm was broken given the nature and extent of the force used by the officers,” Martino said. “It may be that the injury was the product of the officers having had to manipulate her arms to drag her to a waiting cruiser and a pre-existing condition that made her more susceptible to fractures.
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“Be that as it may, as there are no reasonable grounds to conclude that the subject officer or any of the other involved officers behaved themselves other than within the limits of the criminal law in their dealings with the complainant.”
Martino said there is no basis for proceeding with charges in this case and the SIU has closed the file.
The Special Investigations Unit is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an official where there has been death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault
The investigation into the Aug. 22, 2023 arrest included interviews with the complainant, six civilian witnesses and four police officer witnesses.
The subject officer declined to be interviewed or provide notes about the incident which is the officer’s right.
The investigation also included video footage of the scene from three nearby residences.
To view the complete SIU report visit https://siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=2769.
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