Peel cop did nothing wrong during incident where Brampton man broke ankle, says SIU

 

The province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has cleared the Peel Regional Police in an incident where a Brampton man fractured his ankle during a confrontation with officers.

The incident occurred on July 20 of last year when Peel Police were called to a Brampton residence after a man had barricaded himself inside a room.

According to the SIU, the man appeared to be in mental distress and when officers arrived they tried to convince him they were there to help.

When the man opened the door he became confrontational and told officers he didn't want to go to the hospital.

According to the report, the man eventually surrendered peacefully and agreed to go to the hospital. However, he began to resist again and a struggle ensued.

"Officers took the man to the ground and attempted to hold him in place pending the arrival of an ambulance," according to the SIU. "Paramedics arrived, administered a sedative to the man and he was taken to hospital. There, he was diagnosed with a fractured ankle."

Director of the SIU Joseph Martino found there were no "reasonable grounds to believe that the subject officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the complainant's injury."

Martino noted in the report that the amount of force used was "reasonably necessary" to maintain the man's safety and take him to hospital.

The director could not determine if the subject officer was responsible for the man's injury or if it had occurred when the man kicked the cruiser; however, he said, there was no reason to believe the officer acted unlawfully.

As a result, no criminal charges will be laid and this investigation and case is officially closed.