The agency that investigates allegations of police wrongdoing has determined there are no grounds on which to charge any London police officers after a suspect suffered a fractured hand.
The Special Investigations Unit was called to London on August 9, 2019 after police responded to a home on Huron Street in regards to an assault investigation. According to the SIU report, two people in the home were arguing, which led a man to punch a concrete wall.
When officers arrived, the man was brandishing a toy knife and challenged an officer to fight him. The officer told the man to drop the knife. But when the man did not co-operate, the officer grabbed his right arm and took him to the floor. Another officer helped the first officer restrain the suspect while he tried to put handcuffs on him.
When the man was taken to the holding cells at police headquarters, he complained about pain in his right hand. The man was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured hand.
SIU Director Joseph Martino said in his report it's likely the man caused his own injury when he punched the wall. He added that the level of force used by police was "no more than was reasonably necessary to take him into custody."
However, he did raise concerns about a punch that was delivered to the suspect after he was handcuffed.
"There is a discrepancy as to the force used by the SO (subject officer) while on the floor with the Complainant attempting to handcuff him and, after the Complainant had been handcuffed, in the hallway outside the residence," he said. "At its highest, the evidence suggests the officer punched the Complainant once on the floor and, thereafter, once again in the hallway. On each occasion, the evidence is clear that the Complainant was physically resisting his arrest. I take no issue with the first strike. The Complainant was at the time struggling against the SO and WO #1’s (witness officer #1) efforts to secure his arms and the strike proved effective in completing the arrest. The second punch, delivered at a point in time after the Complainant had been handcuffed, is less easy to square."
But Martino said in light of the combative behaviour of the suspect before and after he was handcuffed, he cannot reasonably conclude that the punch violated the law.
"In the final analysis, whether the SO caused or contributed to the Complainant’s injury (and it appears unlikely he did either), there is no basis in my view to believe that the officer acted other than lawfully in his dealings with the Complainant," Martino said. "Accordingly, there are no grounds for proceeding with criminal charges in this case and the file is closed."
