Ontario's law-enforcement oversight agency has concluded its investigation of an incident early this summer.
On June 22, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers were in Thedford handling a suspected impaired driving incident.
According to the report by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the officers blocked the driver's pickup truck with their cruiser, which prompted the driver to angrily leave the truck and confront the officers. After the officers informed the 67-year-old man that they were investigating possible impaired driving, the man tried to return to his vehicle. The officers then brought the man to the ground.
During the struggle, one of the officers punched the man in the head before he was handcuffed and brought to his feet. The man was released soon after, but the following day, went to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion.
SIU Director Joseph Martino concluded that while the man was punched by an officer, it was not done in a way that warranted criminal charges.
"On this record, I am unable to reasonably conclude that a single punch was beyond the pale. Following the punch, the complainant was handcuffed, and no further blows were struck by the officers," wrote Martino. "For the foregoing reasons, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges on this case. The file is closed."
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.
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SIU ends investigation of Thedford arrest
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SIU ends investigation of Thedford arrest
Michael Jack, Administrator
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Michael Jack
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No charges for OPP officer after Thedford man concussed during arrest: SIU
There are no grounds to charge an OPP officer after a man was punched and concussed while being arrested in Lambton County, Ontario’s police watchdog says.
There are no grounds to charge an OPP officer after a man was punched and concussed while being arrested in Lambton County, Ontario’s police watchdog says.
Two OPP officers in a cruiser blocked a pickup in a rural Thedford laneway June 22 after another motorist reported the driver possibly impaired, the Special Investigations Unit reported Friday.
The driver, a Thedford man, 67, who had just driven home from Goderich, became irate and got out of the truck, yelling at the officer to get the cruiser off the property, the report said.
The man and officers weren’t identified in the report.
The officers explained why they were there and tried to calm the man down. As the man moved back toward his truck, the officers grabbed him and brought him to the ground by taking out his legs and kneeing his thigh, the report said.
“There followed a brief struggle in which an officer punched the man once to the right side of the head,” the report said.
The 25-minute altercation, including the blow, was captured on the man’s home video surveillance, but it was unclear if it was with an open or closed fist, the report said. He went to hospital in Sarnia the next day and was diagnosed with a serious concussion.
While on the ground outside his home, the man was handcuffed then lifted to his feet. The officers talked to a woman in the pickup’s passenger seat and asked her where he’d been and if he had drunk alcohol that night.
The second officer told the officer at the centre of the investigation the man wasn’t drunk. He replied he was going to run him.
“I don’t know what that was about,” the officer being probed added, the report said.
Then the handcuffs were taken off and the man was released unconditionally. He wasn’t asked to do a roadside test and no charges were laid.
SIU director Joseph Martino said after assessing the evidence, there were no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s injury. He added he was satisfied the officers were acting in the execution of their duties through the events culminating in the takedown and the evidence fell short of any reasonable suggestion it was excessive.
“The punch delivered by the (officer) was significant, and might have resulted in a temporary loss of consciousness by the complainant. That said, there is evidence that the complainant did not immediately surrender his arms to be handcuffed when on the ground. On this record, I am unable to reasonably conclude that a single punch was beyond the pale,” he wrote.
Three civilians and the second officer were interviewed by watchdog investigators. The officer being investigated for the punch handed over their notes but declined to be interviewed, as is their legal right.
The SIU is a civilian agency that probes all cases of serious injury, death, police-involved shootings and allegations of sexual assault involving police officers.
Earlier this year, the watchdog said OPP officers shouldn’t be charged after a 25-year-old man went into medical distress at a Lambton OPP detachment after his arrest.
But the SIU did charge a Sarnia police officer with assault causing bodily harm last year after a 35-year-old man was diagnosed with a serious injury following his arrest in October 2022.
tbridge@postmedia.com
@ObserverTerry
https://www.norfolkandtillsonburgnews.c ... arrest-siu
There are no grounds to charge an OPP officer after a man was punched and concussed while being arrested in Lambton County, Ontario’s police watchdog says.
Two OPP officers in a cruiser blocked a pickup in a rural Thedford laneway June 22 after another motorist reported the driver possibly impaired, the Special Investigations Unit reported Friday.
The driver, a Thedford man, 67, who had just driven home from Goderich, became irate and got out of the truck, yelling at the officer to get the cruiser off the property, the report said.
The man and officers weren’t identified in the report.
The officers explained why they were there and tried to calm the man down. As the man moved back toward his truck, the officers grabbed him and brought him to the ground by taking out his legs and kneeing his thigh, the report said.
“There followed a brief struggle in which an officer punched the man once to the right side of the head,” the report said.
The 25-minute altercation, including the blow, was captured on the man’s home video surveillance, but it was unclear if it was with an open or closed fist, the report said. He went to hospital in Sarnia the next day and was diagnosed with a serious concussion.
While on the ground outside his home, the man was handcuffed then lifted to his feet. The officers talked to a woman in the pickup’s passenger seat and asked her where he’d been and if he had drunk alcohol that night.
The second officer told the officer at the centre of the investigation the man wasn’t drunk. He replied he was going to run him.
“I don’t know what that was about,” the officer being probed added, the report said.
Then the handcuffs were taken off and the man was released unconditionally. He wasn’t asked to do a roadside test and no charges were laid.
SIU director Joseph Martino said after assessing the evidence, there were no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s injury. He added he was satisfied the officers were acting in the execution of their duties through the events culminating in the takedown and the evidence fell short of any reasonable suggestion it was excessive.
“The punch delivered by the (officer) was significant, and might have resulted in a temporary loss of consciousness by the complainant. That said, there is evidence that the complainant did not immediately surrender his arms to be handcuffed when on the ground. On this record, I am unable to reasonably conclude that a single punch was beyond the pale,” he wrote.
Three civilians and the second officer were interviewed by watchdog investigators. The officer being investigated for the punch handed over their notes but declined to be interviewed, as is their legal right.
The SIU is a civilian agency that probes all cases of serious injury, death, police-involved shootings and allegations of sexual assault involving police officers.
Earlier this year, the watchdog said OPP officers shouldn’t be charged after a 25-year-old man went into medical distress at a Lambton OPP detachment after his arrest.
But the SIU did charge a Sarnia police officer with assault causing bodily harm last year after a 35-year-old man was diagnosed with a serious injury following his arrest in October 2022.
tbridge@postmedia.com
@ObserverTerry
https://www.norfolkandtillsonburgnews.c ... arrest-siu
Michael Jack, Administrator