Driver tasered after ramming cop cars, no charges for officers in Brampton
Published May 13, 2024 at 3:29 pm
Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared officers involved in the violent takedown of a man who investigators say used a stolen van as a battering ram in Brampton.
The arrest happened on Jan. 13 while Peel Regional Police were investigating a stolen van in the parking lot of the Walmart at 15 Resolution Drive in Brampton.
Three people were inside the van and police used several cruisers to box in the vehicle, investigators said. But the SIU says the driver “refused to surrender” and threw the van in reverse before hitting the gas and crashing into the blockade of cruisers.
The driver crashed into the cruisers two more times with officers breaking windows on the van and firing a conductive energy weapon, commonly known as a Taser, at the man “with no apparent effect,” the SIU said.
Police then pulled the man from the vehicle before hitting him with another shot from the Taser that had little impact, but officers were able to take the suspect into custody with the help of a K9 unit.
The man suffered a fractured orbital bone in the melee, had glass in his eye, and was rushed to Brampton Civic Hospital with serious wounds, according to investigators.
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The SIU found that the officer’s use of the Taser “made sense in the circumstances, even though it did not work to incapacitate the Complainant.”
Investigators say there was no wrongdoing on the part of police in the arrest and that the complainant “was subject to arrest for ‘theft over $5000’.”
The SIU is the independent civilian government agency that investigates the conduct of police officers which may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault, and the discharge of a firearm at a person.
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