The province's police watchdog has cleared a London police officer of any wrongdoing in an arrest last fall that left a break-in suspect with a fractured cheekbone and brain bleed.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) had been probing the man's injury since his November 2 arrest. Investigators determined London police were called to a home in the area of Commissioners Road West and Viscount Road just before 5 a.m. on that date after a woman awoke to find an intruder standing over her. The woman called police and the intruder took off with numerous items stolen from the home including a bicycle, clothes, and car keys.
Police located a suspect matching the description of the intruder in a laneway behind a retail plaza at 312 Commissioners Road West. The 32-year-old man was pushing a bicycle when police stopped him. As an officer was attempting to handcuff the man's hands behind his back, the man broke free and ran. He then reportedly tripped and fell. Another officer arrived and the pair began to struggle. During that time the officer punched and struck the man with his knee. Two more officers arrived on scene at which time the man was thrown to the ground where he continued to struggle, the SIU found.
As officers worked to subdue the man a knife was spotted in his pocket. More punches and knee strikes were delivered before police were finally able to handcuff the man behind his back.
Shortly after his arrest the man complained of head pain and was taken to hospital. He was diagnosed with a fractured left cheekbone and brain bleed.
The SIU was notified due to the severity of the man's injuries and invoked its mandate. Three investigators were assigned to the case. The subject officer declined to be interviewed or provide his notes from the incident, as is his legal right. Video surveillance footage from the retail plaza was obtained and reviewed by SIU investigators.
SIU Director Joseph Martino has stated that after reviewing all of the evidence he is "satisfied" the officer's use of force was justified.
"The officers had reason to believe that the [man] had just committed a serious offence and it was important in the interests of public safety that he be apprehended as quickly as possible," Martino said. "Given the nature of the offence, they would also have been concerned that the Complainant was carrying tools capable of being used as weapons.
Martino also noted the officers' concerns that the man may have been trying to reach for the knife in his pocket during the struggle.
"The officers were entitled to act with decisive force to prevent that contingency materializing, and they did so without resorting to any weapons. No further force was brought to bear after the [man] was handcuffed," said Martino. "While I accept that the [man's] injuries were incurred in the altercation that marked his arrest, it is not the case that they were attributable to any unlawful conduct by the involved officers. As such, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges. The file is closed."
