Police watchdog lays assault charge against London officer in February arrest

A 26-year-old London police constable is facing a charge of assault causing bodily harm in relation to the arrest of a man at Victoria Hospital in mid-February, the province’s police watchdog said Tuesday.

According to the Special Investigations Unit, a 54-year-old London man was taken to the hospital’s Emergency Department by what the agency said was a Good Samaritan.

“While there, a police officer, who was in the Emergency Department on an unrelated matter, learned that there was an outstanding warrant for the man’s arrest,” the SIU said in a media release.

A second officer was called to the scene to arrest the man. The SIU said there was an interaction and the man sustained serious injuries. No further information has been released about the incident itself.

In a media release last month, police said the man had been sought on an outstanding warrant for failing to attend court. He was treated and released from hospital and was taken to police headquarters and later released from custody with a charge of resist arrest, police said.

Const. Travis Buckle has been charged in the case and will appear in court April 15, the SIU said.

Police said Buckle, a member of the force for nearly four years, has been placed on administrative duties.