OPP officer cleared in June arrest in Belle River

When police officers are involved in incidents where someone has been seriously injured, dies or alleges sexual assault, the Special Investigations Unit has the statutory mandate to conduct independent investigations to determine whether a criminal offence took place.

OPP officer cleared in June arrest in Belle River

Postby Thomas » Tue Dec 07, 2021 7:33 pm

No criminal charges will be filed against an Ontario Provincial Police officer in connection with an arrest in Lakeshore this summer.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was called in after the suspect suffered a concussion during the arrest at West Beach in Belle River on June 13.

Officers were called to the beach at around 9:45 p.m. after getting reports that the man, and his companions, had been bothering and assaulting beachgoers. The 43-year-old man from Tecumseh was arrested along with two other people.

At the OPP detachment in Lakeshore, the man became argumentative with an officer, who hit the suspect in the face with an elbow and put him in a holding cell. The report from the SIU said the man was released the next day, and after getting medical treatment, was diagnosed with a concussion.

In issuing the report, SIU Director Joseph Martino said the officer had reason to be concerned that the man would turn violent just before the officer’s resort to force, and that there was no evidence that the force was excessive. Therefore, the file is being closed.

https://blackburnnews.com/windsor/winds ... lle-river/
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Re: OPP officer cleared in June arrest in Belle River

Postby Thomas » Tue Dec 07, 2021 7:34 pm

The SIU says they have found no reasonable grounds to believe that an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the concussion suffered by a 43-year-old man after his arrest last June in Lakeshore.

It was on June 13th, 2021, that officers from the Lakeshore Detachment were called to a public disturbance at Belle River beach in Belle River. Beachgoers had contacted police to report that the man and others he was with had accosted and assaulted persons at the beach.

Officers arrested the man and two others. At the detachment, the man confronted the officer. The officer struck the man in the face with his right elbow and put him in the cell. The man was released from custody the next day, after which he went to a medical clinic where he was diagnosed with a concussion.

The SIU says that based on the evidence, that the use of force was excessive in the circumstances, and that the officer had reason to be concerned that the man would turn violent just before the officer’s resort to force.

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SIU clears OPP officer of any wrongdoing after man's facial

Postby Thomas » Fri Dec 10, 2021 6:20 am

SIU clears OPP officer of any wrongdoing after man's facial bone broken

A local Ontario Provincial Police officer has been cleared by the Special Investigations Unit after a man had one of his face bones broken while in the officer’s custody.

“There is insufficient evidence to reasonably conclude that the subject officer acted with excessive force in his dealings with the complainant inside the cell,” Joseph Martino, director of the SIU, wrote in his decision. “The force was significant, but the risk of self-harm and possibly even death befalling the complainant in a drug overdose situation was also real.

“On balance, I am satisfied that the officer acted within the range of what was of justifiable force in the circumstances. Accordingly, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case, and the file is closed.”

The incident in question occurred on Nov. 20, 2020. The man had been arrested by the OPP for attending a woman’s home despite his probation terms forbidding him to. While in OPP custody at the detachment in Napanee, the man was seen on surveillance taking a baggie out of his pocket, pouring a white substance, appearing to be cocaine, onto his cell’s bench and then snorting it.

Officers were told of the man’s actions and they went to his cell. When they arrived, the man tried to put his hands in his pockets. Knowing what the man had just done, the subject officer instructed him not to put his hands in his pockets. When the man continued, the officer took hold of the man’s wrists to control him.

Another officer came into the cell and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, the subject officer forced the man against a wall, striking his face on it. The officer then slammed the man down toward the bench.

“The grounding resulted in the complainant’s face striking the bench as his upper half came to rest on the cell bench, his lower half in a kneeling position by the side of the bench,” Martino’s report stated.

Once the man was under control, they found the baggie with the substance they suspected to be cocaine inside.

The complainant told police he suspected his jaw was broken and so he was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a left-sided facial fracture.

https://www.thewhig.com/news/local-news ... one-broken
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