OPP officer cleared after woman suffers fractured foot during Lambton arrest

[Michael Jack]

Ontario's police watchdog has wrapped up its investigation into an arrest in Lambton County in which a 23-year-old woman suffered a fractured foot.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released its full report of the March 8 incident on July 2.

Provincial police were called to a rural Lambton County apartment to conduct a welfare check on March 8. When officers arrived at 3:18 p.m., they found the woman and a man who were allegedly under conditions to not be around each other, read the SIU report.

Both were taken into custody.

The SIU said body-worn camera footage showed the woman asking the arresting officer if she could get socks, but was told no and reportedly refused to put shoes on without socks.

While being escorted down an exterior staircase while barefoot, she allegedly became uncooperative, turning and twisting her body. Near the bottom of the staircase, the report said she screamed and yelled at the officer for stepping on her foot.

"It is in this context that the [officer] is alleged to have intentionally stepped on the complainant’s left foot," said the SIU report. "The [officer] denies that he purposely stepped on the complainant’s foot. He says that action was accidental, the result of the parties making their way down a narrow staircase."

The woman was first taken to the Petrolia OPP detachment and later transported to Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital, where she was diagnosed with fractures to two bones in her left foot.

The SIU report concluded the "evidence does not reasonably establish excessive force by the officer." As such, the file was closed.

https://sarnianewstoday.ca/sarnia/news/ ... ton-arrest

https://cknewstoday.ca/sarnia/news/2026 ... ton-arrest

[Michael Jack]

The province’s police watchdog has closed the book on an investigation into the actions of a Lambton OPP officer after a woman was hurt while being taken into custody earlier this year.

On March 8, Ontario Provincial Police officers were called to an apartment in rural Lambton County for a welfare check involving a woman and her son.

According to the Special Investigations Unit, a man was arrested for assault and a woman arrested for breach of a no-contact condition.

Investigators say the 23-year-old woman was struggling with the officer and complained about how hard he was holding her arm as they went down an exterior staircase, twisted her body, and the officer accidentally stepped on her bare foot. The woman was taken to hospital in Petrolia and diagnosed with a fractured left foot.

In his report, SIU Director Joseph Martino said the evidence did not reasonably establish excessive force, and there are no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence.

https://ckxsfm.com/lambton-opp-officer- ... y-siu/amp/

[Michael Jack]

The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, found no reasonable grounds to believe an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the fractured left foot suffered by a 23-year-old woman during her arrest. On March 8, 2026, OPP officers were called to an apartment in rural Lambton County for a welfare check involving the woman and her son. The male was arrested for assault, and the woman was arrested for breach of a no-contact condition. While she was being escorted down an exterior staircase, the officer stepped on the woman’s shoeless left foot. The woman was taken to hospital for treatment.

Director Martino found that the woman was angry at the officer for preventing her from putting on socks and for how hard the officer was holding her left arm as they went down the stairs. She argued with him to release her arm, twisting and turning her body. The officer said he accidentally stepped on her foot due to the narrow staircase. The body worn camera footage did not capture the incident. On this record, with no reason to believe the allegation of intentional force is any closer to the truth than the officer’s account of what happened, the evidence does not reasonably establish excessive force by the officer.

https://www.siu.on.ca/en/news_template.php?nrid=11322

[Michael Jack]

The Special Investigations Unit says there are no reasonable grounds to believe an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence after a 23-year-old woman suffered a fractured left foot during her arrest in rural Lambton County.

In a decision released Thursday, SIU Director Joseph Martino concluded the evidence did not reasonably establish that the officer used excessive force during the March 8, 2026, incident.

The SIU said OPP officers responded to an apartment in rural Lambton County to conduct a welfare check involving the woman and her son. The man was arrested for assault, while the woman was arrested for allegedly breaching a no-contact condition.

According to the SIU, the woman suffered the injury while being escorted down an exterior staircase after the officer stepped on her shoeless left foot. She was taken to hospital for treatment.

Martino found the woman was upset because the officer prevented her from putting on socks and because of how firmly he was holding her left arm while escorting her down the stairs. The SIU said she argued with the officer to release her arm, twisting and turning her body as they descended the staircase.

The officer told investigators he accidentally stepped on the woman’s foot because of the narrow staircase. The SIU said body-worn camera footage did not capture the incident.

Martino concluded there was no evidence to support an allegation that the officer intentionally used force.

“On this record, with no reason to believe the allegation of intentional force is any closer to the truth than the officer’s account of what happened, the evidence does not reasonably establish excessive force by the officer,” the SIU director wrote.

https://sydenhamcurrent.ca/2026/07/06/s ... ty-arrest/