Ontario’s police watchdog has determined there are “no grounds” on which to charge an officer from the Barrie Police Service after a 42-year-old man fractured his arm during a January arrest.
According to the Special Investigations Unit, a civilian witness called Barrie police on the evening of Jan. 26 to ask them to check on the well-being of the 42-year-old man’s daughter.
The man was allegedly intoxicated, and his daughter had contacted another witness asking to be picked up and brought home, the SIU says.
According to the SIU, the witness who called police then cancelled her request for a safety check when she and the other witness decided to go pick up the girl themselves.
When the two arrived at a home on Raymond Crescent at about 7:30 p.m., the SIU says one witness called the police again to report an altercation with the 42-year-old man.
According to the SIU, the man launched himself onto the hood of a vehicle, pulled a windshield wiper from it and tried to light the car’s tires on fire with a lighter.
The SIU says a Barrie police officer arrived at 7:45 p.m. and was approached by the man, who allegedly refused to remove his left hand from his left pants pocket when asked.
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A struggle reportedly ensued before the man broke free from the officer, who chased after him west along Raymond Crescent, according to the SIU.
Eventually, the officer caught up to the man and tackled him to the ground, where he reportedly resisted the officer’s efforts, the SIU says.
The 42-year-old sustained two or three punches to the head before he surrendered his arms to be handcuffed, according to the police watchdog.
On their way to the police cruiser, there was reportedly another struggle that caused the two to fall to the ground.
Once inside the police cruiser, the SIU says the man complained he wasn’t feeling well and was taken directly to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured arm.
The SIU’s interim director, Joseph Martino, said in the case report that there are “no reasonable grounds” to charge the Barrie police officer in connection with the incident.
“Police officers are shielded from criminal liability for force used in the course of their duties, provided such force was reasonably necessary in the execution of an act that they were required or authorized to do by law,” Martino said in the report.
According to Martino, the man was intoxicated and had threatened the two witnesses and damaged one’s vehicle, legally justifying the use of force during the arrest.
“The evidence establishes that the complainant was out of control,” Martino said in the report. “Drunk and infuriated with his estranged partner’s attempts to remove her daughter from his care, the complainant went on a rampage.”
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