SIU clears OPP officers after man suffers cracked rib during arrest

The Special Investigations Unit has cleared two Ontario Provincial Police officers in the case of a man who suffered a fractured rib while being handcuffed last year.

“With respect to the amount of force used by officers in their attempts to arrest and handcuff the complainant, on a review of all of the evidence, I find that their actions were justified in the circumstances and that they used no more force than necessary to effect the arrest of the complainant,” said Tony Loparco, the director of the Ontario SIU in a report.

On Feb. 16, 2016, just before 6 p.m., police responded to a call about two people in a truck who were firing guns into a field near Perth and had threatened and pointed a firearm at a 16-yearold.

In the process of handcuffing the 71-year-old man, who one of the officers say was fidgeting and moving, an officer placed a knee on the small of the man’s back while another had their knee on the man’s mid-back to secure his right arm.

As one of the officers leaned forward to grab the man’s wrists, they heard a “pop” or “crack” from his back.

After police found no criminal offence had been committed, the man was released.

The following day, he was diagnosed with a fractured left sixth rib.

Loparco’s report said the 911 caller’s account gave officers “reasonable grounds to believe that a number of Criminal Code offences had been committed” and officers handled the situation in a proper fashion with the information they had.