SIU clears Brant OPP officer after man suffered facial injuries during arrest

The province’s Special Investigations Unit has determined there was no unlawful conduct on the part of a Brant OPP officer after a man sustained facial injuries while being taken into custody earlier this year.

On March 20, two Brant OPP officers were dispatched to a Brant County residence and were advised enroute that the 23-year-old man was positive on the Canadian Firearms Registry Online, said a news release issued by the SIU.

A 911 caller indicated he was on the phone with a friend who was in a heated argument with her boyfriend.

Outside the residence, officers spoke with the 911 caller who had made his way to the scene, and the woman involved in the dispute.

The woman told officers that the man was intoxicated, had been breaking furniture inside the home, and had a cut to the back of his head or neck.

Paramedics were dispatched to the scene.

Officers located the man inside the garage and said they wanted to check on his well-being. He was asked to open the door with his hands in the air, to which he complied, and officers entered the garage.

“The complainant was initially calm but, when told the officers wanted to ensure he was okay and that he was not harming himself, he turned hostile,” said SIU director Joseph Martino in his report. “He first picked up a knife and threatened to cut his neck. Told to put the knife down, the complainant did so, only to pick up a wrench and threatened the subject officer (SO).

“The complainant came at the SO swinging his fists. The SO reacted by punching the complainant in the face several times.”

The punches felled the man to the ground, at which time he was handcuffed.

Paramedics took the man to Norfolk General Hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken nose and a possibly fractured left orbital wall.

Martino said the officer was entitled to defend himself.

“He did so with a series of punches to the head, which seems a commensurate and proportionate use of force given the nature of the threat he was facing,” said the director. “While I accept that the complainant’s facial injuries were the result of the punches struck by the SO, there are no reasonable grounds to believe they are attributable to any unlawful conduct on the part of the officer.

“As such, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case.”

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers and special constables) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. Investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians.