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Police used reasonable force during arrest of mentally ill man: SIRT

Nova Scotia's police watchdog has been called in to investigate after the pedestrian was hit on Saturday while officers were responding to a call about an injured child.
Nova Scotia's police watchdog has been called in to investigate after the pedestrian was hit on Saturday while officers were responding to a call about an injured child. File/ Global News

HALIFAX – A Nova Scotia police watchdog has concluded officers used reasonable force when they subdued a man suffering from a mental illness earlier this year.

The 31-year-old man’s leg was broken as police took him into custody and used a conducted energy weapon on him.

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Two members of the Kentville Police Service were involved in the May 23 arrest.

The report from the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) says the man was experiencing a “significant paranoid crisis,” and police were attempting to arrest him under provisions of the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act.

The agency says the man resisted and struggled with police, placing one officer in a headlock.

It concludes police had reasonable grounds to arrest the man and had to protect themselves.

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