Investigation into London police officers dropped, no charges to be laid: SIU

Ontario’s police watchdog says no charges will be laid against two London police officers, after serious injuries were sustained by a 56-year-old man during his arrest in January 2017.

During the evening of Jan. 17, 2017, a warrant was issued for the complainant’s arrest as he had failed to meet with his parole officer as required.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says the warrant permitted officers to enter the home and arrest the man.

According to the SIU, when two officers entered the man’s room, he quickly ingested a large quantity of an unknown white powder. A struggle ensued when the man refused to obey the officers’ commands and resisted arrest.

The SIU says the man was taken to the ground and punched twice in the face to prevent him from biting the officers. Once the man was handcuffed, he was escorted outside and custody was transferred to the two officers in question.

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According to the SIU, new handcuffs were applied to the man after he complained the original cuffs were causing him pain. The SIU says he was then transported to the hospital by ambulance out of concern over the white powder he ingested.

At the hospital, the SIU says an X-ray was ordered on the man’s arm after he complained it was sore. It was determined that the man had an acute ulnar shaft fracture of the left wrist.

The SIU says the man alleged that his wrist was broken when the second set of handcuffs were applied.

However, the SIU says they determined Friday afternoon that there were no reasonable grounds to lay charges against the two officers in question.

“While I believe that the Complainant likely suffered a fracture to his left wrist during his encounter with the police officers… I am satisfied that the Complainant was lawfully under arrest and that the force used by the involved officers during the encounter fell within the limits prescribed by the criminal law,” said SIU Director Tony Loparco.