Ontario's law enforcement oversight agency has cleared Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) after a woman suffered an injury last year.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) found no reason to charge the officer after the woman received a concussion in a police cruiser.
The officer was called to an intimate-partner dispute in the early morning hours of October 18, 2024. The woman was arrested for assault with a weapon.
Once the cruiser entered the sallyport of the OPP Leamington detachment, the woman was seen lunging forward in the back seat, striking her head on the prisoner screen.
An ambulance was called after the woman complained of pain while she was being booked. Paramedics examined her, but she declined to go to hospital at that time. However, the woman did ask to be taken to the hospital when police later accompanied her home to collect her belongings.
On October 22, the woman returned to the detachment to complain about having suffered a concussion during the arrest.
Following an investigation, SIU Director Joseph Martino concluded that the evidence showed the officer exercised care during the ride to the detachment.
"I am unable to reasonably conclude that the officer’s indiscretions amounted to a marked departure from a reasonable standard of care, still less a marked and substantial one," wrote Martino. "For the foregoing reasons, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed."