Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit says no charges are being laid against a Guelph police officer after a man suffered a broken nose while being arrested on New Year’s Day.
A 44-year-old man driving a pickup truck was stopped at a gas station near Stone Road and Scottsdale Drive following a speed complaint.
In its report on Monday, the SIU said that police attempted to arrest the man after he refused to identify himself. He was also under a court order not to have contact with the woman in his passenger seat.
The report details that the man was kicked by one of the officers because he was resisting arrest, but the blow inadvertently struck his face as he was falling.
SIU director Joseph Martino described the kick and another knee strike as being “at the upper end of what was legally permissible” but did not cross the line into excessive force.
“The kick delivered by the subject officer seems heavy-handed in the circumstances,” Martino said. “That said, the officer explained that he intended to strike the complainant’s torso with the kick and inadvertently hit him in the face as the complainant was being grounded.”
Martino noted that no further blows of any kind were struck after the man was handcuffed.
“I am satisfied on reasonable grounds that the force used by the officer fell within the range of what was reasonably necessary in the circumstances to effect a lawful arrest,” he said.
The full report can be found on the SIU’s website.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates events involving police in Ontario that have resulted in death, serious injury, or reports of sexual assault.
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