No charges for Peel cops after Brampton motorist suffered broken ribs

The province’s Special Investigations Unit will not lay charges in an incident that saw an alleged drunk driver suffer two broken ribs after refusing a roadside breathalyzer test.

In the early morning hours of November 22, 2020, Peel Regional Police officers pulled over a driver in Brampton they witnessed driving erratically and believed might be impaired. After being pulled over, the driver refused to provide a breath sample or exit his vehicle.

The officers forcibly removed the driver from the vehicle. Police claim the suspect resisted arrest and one officer delivered three blows with his knee to the driver’s left side, resulting in the rib fractures.

“While I accept that (the officer’s) knee strikes were the likely cause of the complainant’s rib fractures, I am not satisfied on reasonable grounds that either he or (the other suspect officer) acted other than lawfully throughout the course of their engagement,” said SIU director Joseph Martino in his written report. “Accordingly, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case and the file is closed.”

The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an official where there has been death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault.