The province’s police watchdog has cleared an OPP officer of wrongdoing in connection with an incident near Guelph, Ont., which saw a man suffer a broken ankle during an arrest.
The SIU says that OPP officers were called to a home near Main and Alma streets in Rockwood on Sept. 5, 2021, for a domestic incident.
The SIU’s report says the officers arrived and began discussion with the man and his girlfriend.
After the officers talked to the man, they decided the best move was to arrest him but a struggle ensued and one officer deployed a conducted energy weapon.
In his report, SIU director Joseph Martino said that the man strenuously resisted arrest, even punching one of the officers.
The officers responded by using the conducted energy weapon before throwing a couple of quick punches of their own.
The following day it was discovered that the man had suffered a fractured ankle at some point during the struggle with officers.
Martino says the officers were well within their rights to throw the punches and use the CEW in order to arrest the man.
“Accordingly, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case, and the file is closed,” he said.
The SIU is an independent agency that investigates incidents involving police that have resulted in death, serious injury or alleged sexual assault.
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