Hamilton officers will not face charges after man’s nose broken during arrest: Watchdog
Published March 15, 2022 at 1:01 pm
Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared two Hamilton Police Service officers in relation to an incident where a man is alleged to have sustained a broken nose while trying to resist arrest.
According to a report released Tuesday (March 15) the incident in question occurred on Nov. 15 at an apartment building on King St. east.
Hamilton Police were called to one of the units after a man was found to be inside a unit he was evicted from less than a month earlier.
When officers attended the apartment, the man reportedly physically resisted officers which lead to an altercation in which the officers each punched the man in the head in an attempt to subdue him.
A short time later, the SIU report notes, the man was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured nose. At that time, the SIU invoked its mandate.
“While I accept that the Complainant might well have had his nose broken by one or the other of the subject officials in the course of the physical altercation that marked his arrest,” wrote SIU director Joseph Martino in the report, “there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either SO (subject officer) #1 and SO #2 conducted themselves other than lawfully in their engagement.”
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Martino concluded that there was no basis for pursuing criminal charges against the officers and the matter is closed.
Read Martino’s final report on the SIU website.
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