Ontario's police watchdog has determined that no charges are warranted after a man was injured during his arrest after a break-in at a hemp farm in Elgin County.
The Special Investigations Unit was called in after the October 7, 2019 incident. The injured man was one of several people who fled when police arrived at the scene of the break-in east of St. Thomas. The Elgin County Ontario Provincial Police arrested several people, including the injured man who was treated in hospital for dog bites and fractured ribs.
According to the SIU, the man was found lying on his stomach in knee-high grass and was grabbed by the pantleg by a police dog. Officers told him to show his hands, which he did not. One of the officers kicked him in the ribcage and the suspect then put his hands behind his back so he could be handcuffed.
It was alleged by a witness that, once the suspect was handcuffed, he was kicked in the ribs 4-5 times more. However, the Director of the SIU determined that the allegation wasn't credible.
"The only evidence that the Complainant was beaten comes from a single source; however, I am unable to find this source sufficiently trustworthy to warrant resting criminal charges on the strength of this evidence," SIU Director Joseph Martino said. "The source of this evidence proved to be unreliable and provided details that were contrary to other reliable evidence."
Martino said it is more likely that the suspect suffered the rib injury when he was kicked once, when he failed to show his hands as instructed by the officers. That kick, according to Martino, represented a level of force that was "within the scope of that permitted by law."
Martino determined that no charges will be laid and the case is closed.
