News Release
No Charges Against Brantford Police Officer After Man’s Ribs Broken
Case Number: 21-OCI-229
Witness Assistance
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Brantford Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the serious injuries suffered by a 31-year-old man in the course of his arrest.
On July 19, 2021, officers attempted to arrest the man for breaching a term of his release from custody three days prior and for his reported involvement in a violent crime spree. The man failed to respond to police commands and walked away. During a struggle, the officer, who had reason to believe the man had a gun, struck him with a knee to the right side. A police dog then bit the man’s lower right leg before he was handcuffed. After his arrest, the man was taken to hospital for the dog bite, which did not require stitches, and was subsequently diagnosed with two broken ribs on his right side.
Director Martino accepted that the knee strike and a possible takedown of the man constituted lawful force in aid of a lawful arrest. Accordingly, there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in the case, and the file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=1641
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations
Lisez ce communiqué en français.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES