SIU: Minimal force used during arrest
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has determined the arrest of a man found after fleeing the scene of an accident and stealing a bicycle was lawful, and that the man’s injury to his nose was almost certainly pre-existing.
At about 8 a.m. on Jan. 31, 2018, the complainant was in a collision while operating his girlfriend’s vehicle in the north end of St. Catharines. He drove away in the damaged vehicle and a short time later became stuck in a snowbank on Glenridge Avenue and ran out of gas. The man got out of the vehicle and knocked on several doors in the area, asking for money and gas.
An SIU report says the man abandoned the vehicle and his girlfriend altogether, making off with a bicycle he stole from one of the homes. Niagara Regional Police found him on St. Paul Street in the alcove of an abandoned storefront, where he had the bike and what appeared to be a rifle case.
Officers arrested him, grabbing his arms and lowering him to the ground. The takedown was described by a witness officer as being done in a controlled manner, with minimal force.
Police say the complainant displayed a confused state of mind during the arrest, likely because of drug impairment, and as such, paramedics were called in and he was taken to the hospital.
At no time did any of the officers notice any bleeding or bruising on the man’s nose, and the complainant did not mention any injury to officers or paramedics at the scene.
While at hospital, the man was found to have a minimally displaced, depressed nasal bone fracture, but did not have any complications.
In his report SIU director Tony Loparco said there’s no reason to believe the man’s injuries were caused by police, particularly since it was learned the man had been involved in an altercation earlier that month at Niagara Detention Centre.
The report said medical evidence points to a pre-existing injury, as there were signs of healing taking place, though it may have become aggravated during the course of events that day. However, that aggravation may have been caused during one of the several times he was seen falling onto the concrete sidewalk and into an icy snowbank.
Loparco said evidence leads him to conclude officers did not use excessive force.