Special Investigations Unit clears Guelph, Ont., police officer after woman suffers broken rib

Ontario’s police watchdog says there are no reasonable grounds to lay any charges against a Guelph police officer after a woman suffered a broken rib during a domestic assault investigation last September.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was notified on Sept. 30 when a 32-year-old woman was diagnosed with a broken rib after she was arrested on charges on mischief and assault.

In his report, SIU director Joseph Martino said there was evidence given that the injury was caused by excessive use of force.

“While allegations were made that the complainant received her rib injury when the subject officer placed his knee on her back and a foot hit her left side, I am unable to place any credence on this version of events as it is materially contradicted by other reliable evidence,” Martino said.

That evidence included interviews with five officers who were there during the arrest and the officer being investigated.

The SIU said the woman was seen by witnesses assaulting her former partner and slashed all four of the tires on that person’s car with a knife.

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She was arrested later that night in the stairwell of her Eramosa Road apartment building following a scuffle with officers. SIU said officers had to use their stun gun three times over a 20-second period to subdue the suspect.

The report noted that the officer being investigated punched the woman once during the arrest, which likely caused her injury.

“I find that the action of the subject officer, in delivering a single blow to the complainant’s left-back area, did not constitute an excessive use of force in these circumstances,” Martino said.

“I find that this conclusion is further emphasized by the fact that the complainant continued to fight and thrash about even after the blow was delivered.”

Martino’s full report can be found here.

The SIU is an arm’s-length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.