Ontario Provincial Police Block

The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, found no reasonable grounds to believe an Ontario Provincial Police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the fractured nose suffered by a 41-year-old man. On February 14, 2026, the man was arrested for breach of the peace after he was intoxicated and an unwanted guest at a home, refusing to leave and causing the residents concern for their wellbeing.

While at the detachment, the man appeared to make a fist near the face of one of the searching officers. The man was taken to the ground and struck as he refused officers’ efforts to control his arms behind his back.

While Director Martino accepted that the man’s broken nose was incurred in the altercation that marked his arrest, the likely result of the takedown and/or punch, there were no reasonable grounds to believe it is attributable to unlawful conduct.

Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_d ... ?drid=5111

https://www.siu.on.ca/en/news_template.php?nrid=11234

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has cleared a Kenora OPP officer of anywrongdoing in an injury to a person in custody.

The incident took place on February 14th of this year, when police arrested an intoxicated 41-year-old man for breach of the peace, after he refused to leave a residence.

He was taken to the Kenora detachment, and during his arrest he made a fist at an officer.

He was then taken to the ground and struck as he refused the officer’s attempts to put his hands behind his back.

In the altercation he broke his nose.

The SIU says there is no reason to believe there was any unlawful conduct.

https://yourkenora.ca/siu-clears-kenora ... dy-injury/

Ontario Provincial Police in Kenora won’t face charges in a case in which a drunken man under arrest on Valentine’s Day became violent after his handcuffs were removed.

He ended up with a broken nose in the scuffle that followed, prompting an automatic investigation by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

The incident took place after 4 a.m. Feb. 14 in Kenora. Police were called because the man wouldn’t leave a residence in the community.

Extremely drunk, refused to leave

“A resident had called police to remove an intoxicated and unwelcome guest -- the complainant -- who was refusing to leave,” the SIU said in its investigation report.

“Officers arrived on scene and took a belligerent complainant into custody to prevent a breach of the peace. He was placed in a cruiser and transported to the OPP Kenora detachment.”

The man yelled obscenities at police while he was being driven to the detachment, and continued to do so once they arrived.

Police body cam footage at one point captured him yelling, “What are you going to do, beat me up?”

Once at the detachment, officers removed his handcuffs at around 4:20 a.m. to do a proper search before placing him in a cell. The confrontation began once he had his hands free.

“At one point, after he had been stood facing a wall to be searched, the complainant turned to the right and started to close his right hand in the direction of one of the searching officers,” said the incident narrative compiled by the SIU.

“The officer standing behind the complainant … reacted by wrapping an arm around his neck, forcing him to the floor and delivering a punch in the direction of his upper body.”

Once prone on the floor, the man continued to struggle and was punched several times by two police officers.

“The officers wrestled control of his arms after the strikes and handcuffed them behind the back,” the SIU said.

Video, audio recordings

“The complainant was subsequently transported to hospital when he complained of facial pain. He was diagnosed with a broken nose.”

SIU director Joseph Martino said that, based on the video and audio recordings, officers involved in the altercation acted within the limits of the law.

“The complainant was intoxicated and an unwanted guest at a home, refusing to leave and causing the residents concern for their well-being,” Martino wrote.

“On the arrival of officers, the complainant comported himself in an aggressive manner.”

They were also within their rights to search him after his arrest, and their response after he became aggressive appeared to be lawful.

“The evidence does not reasonably establish it was more than was necessary,” Martino wrote.

“The takedown performed by the (OPP officer) was a legitimate tactic. The complainant had made what appeared to one of the officers to be a fist near the face of one of the searching officers ... In the context of the complainant’s combativeness to that point, the officers had cause to interpret the gesture as a threat of assault.”

The broken nose was the result either of the takedown or the subsequent punches and “would not appear a disproportionate use of force in the circumstances.”

“As such, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case,” Martino wrote.

“The file is closed.”

https://www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ontario ... ects-nose/