OPP officers cleared in Manitoulin incident

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 officers cleared in Manitoulin incident

Postby Thomas » Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:49 pm

Man injured during arrest for alleged trespassing on cottage land

Reasonable actions were taken by OPP officers in arresting an alleged trespasser on Manitoulin, the province’s police watchdog has concluded.

The 56-year-old man, from Mindemoya, injured his left leg during the course of the arrest, and subsequently required reconstructive surgery for a fracture, the Special Investigations Unit said in a report.

The incident occurred back on July 17, when two officers were called to a property on Lake Mindemoya by residents who complained of the man’s presence near a cottage driveway.

The man had previously disagreed with a property owner over access to a shoreline, the SIU noted, and had been charged with trespassing on several occasions, although these charges were withdrawn.

On this occasion he was confronted by a woman and her brother, who asked him to leave. The man refused, “believing he had a lawful right to be on the land,” the SIU said.

The OPP officers arrived at the address at around noon. “They spoke with members of the family and then approached (the man), asking him to vacate the property,” according to the report.

At the time, the man was on a treed incline that climbed toward the cottage property from the shoreline of Lake Mindemoya, and remained reluctant to leave, “believing that he had every right to be where he was,” the SIU said.

When the officers advised him he was under arrest and attempted to handcuff him, the man resisted.

“He continued to resist on the ground after he had been taken down by one of the officers,” the SIU said.

In short order, however, the officers were able to subdue the man, take control of his arms, and secure him in handcuffs.

The man complained of injury while being escorted to a cruiser and was taken from the scene to hospital.

Joseph Martino, director of the SIU, said in a report issued Dec. 31 that he could find no fault with the officers’ response.

“On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either of the subject officials committed a criminal offence in connection with the complainant’s arrest and injury,” he stated. “Accordingly, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case.”

He noted police officers are immune from criminal liability “for force used in the course of their duties, provided such force was reasonably necessary.”

In this case, there was no doubt the man resisted arrest, Martino concluded.

“At issue is whether he was subjected to excessive force when, while prone on the ground, he was kicked or kneed by one of the officers,” he said. “If believed, this might give rise to criminal liability on the part of one or the other subject official. However, I am unable to conclude that there is sufficiently cogent evidence to this effect to warrant charges.”

While the man reported he had “great difficulty bearing weight on his knee” after it was allegedly struck, Martino noted “none of the witnesses present at the time was able to corroborate that evidence.”

The officers themselves said no kick was delivered to the man while he was on the ground.

Rather, they “reported simply using their greater manpower to wrestle control of (his) arms before handcuffing them behind his back,” the report states.

Physical intervention seems to have been warranted in the circumstance, Martino noted.

“In light of the fact that the (man) struggled against the officers’ efforts to handcuff him while on the ground for between two and five minutes, I am unable to reasonably conclude that a knee or a kick was necessarily excessive in the circumstances, even if it did cause the injury in question.”

The SIU is required to investigate any incident involving police that results in a death or significant injury.

https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/loc ... n-incident
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Manitoulin OPP officers cleared in incident that left man wi

Postby Thomas » Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:50 pm

Manitoulin OPP officers cleared in incident that left man with fractured leg

SUDBURY - Ontario's police watchdog has ruled there are no reasonable grounds to charge police in relation to a July 2021 incident on Manitoulin Island that left a suspect with a fractured leg.
The incident centred on a dispute the Mindemoya man had with a property owner over access to a shoreline. He had been arrested on earlier occasions for trespassing in the area.

"The complainant indicated that he had been charged with trespassing on several occasions by the Ontario Provincial Police, but these charges were withdrawn," the Special Investigations Unit said in a news release Friday.

On July 17, he was again in the shoreline area and police were called. Two OPP officers arrived to arrest him.

"The officers approached the complainant, advised him he was under arrest, and attempted to handcuff him," the SIU said.

"The complainant objected to his arrest and refused to release his hands to be handcuffed. He continued to resist on the ground after he had been taken down by one of the officers."

The officers were able to subdue him, take control of his arms and secure him in handcuffs.

"During his arrest, the complainant was kicked in the left leg," the SIU said.

"The complainant reported he was unable to walk from the area and was dragged up a hill to a waiting OPP prisoner wagon."

He was taken to Health Sciences North in Sudbury, where he had reconstructive surgery on the injured leg on July 28.

In his decision, SIU director Joseph Martino said the issue to be decided was whether the suspect was kicked or kneed while he was prone, which could amount to excessive force.

"If believed, this might give rise to criminal liability on the part of one or the other subject official," Martino said.

"However, I am unable to conclude that there is sufficiently cogent evidence to this effect to warrant charges."

And he said none of the witnesses at the scene confirmed that he had difficultly walking as he was taken into custody.

"Finally, in light of the fact that the complainant struggled against the officers’ efforts to handcuff him while on the ground for between two and five minutes, I am unable to reasonably conclude that a knee or a kick was necessarily excessive in the circumstances, even if it did cause the injury in question," Martino said.

"As for the officers’ rendition of the altercation that marked the complainant’s arrest, no mention is made of a strike of any kind once the complainant was on the ground. Rather, the officers reported simply using their greater manpower to wrestle control of the complainant’s arms before handcuffing them behind his back."

As a result, there are no reasonable grounds to lay charges and Martino said the file is closed.

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/mani ... -1.5724534
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SIU clears OPP officer after man’s leg fractured during arre

Postby Thomas » Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:52 pm

SIU clears OPP officer after man’s leg fractured during arrest near Guelph

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.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8488155/siu- ... st-guelph/
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