SIU clears Ottawa police officer after man broke nose at hospital

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit. Photo by ASHLEY FRASER /POSTMEDIA

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The Special Investigations Unit has cleared an Ottawa police officer after a man broke his nose in a February incident at the Monfort Hospital.

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On Feb. 20, an Ottawa Police Service officer apprehended a 26-year-old man under the Mental Health Act, the provincial police watchdog said in a release on June 8.

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The man was taken to hospital, where he became “increasingly agitated” before he was told by police that he would be handcuffed if he did not settle down. His belligerence continued, the SIU release stated, and officers attempted to control his arms behind his back, but the man struggled against them and kept his arms in front of him.

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The officers were eventually successful in forcing the man to the floor, but in the process he fell face first, fracturing his nose.

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After reviewing the evidence, SIU director Joseph Martino decided there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s injury.

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In his decision, Martino said the the “subject officer” was within her rights in arresting the man, writing that she had “encountered a delusional and upset Complainant”.

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The director went on to state that the decision to put the man in handcuffs was justified after he began to act aggressively at the hospital.

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“The force used to place the Complainant in handcuffs was lawful,” Martino wrote. “The Complainant is seen in the video footage to strenuously resist the officers’ efforts to bring his arms around the back, keeping them in front of his body. The takedown made sense in the circumstances as it would better position the officers to overcome the Complainant’s resistance.

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“It is regrettable that the Complainant broke his nose when his face struck the floor in the takedown, but that was more the product of opposing forces operating on one another— the officers attempting to pull him down as the Complainant fought to stay on his feet — rather than the application of unnecessary force by the officers.”

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The SIU is an independent agency that investigates incidents in Ontario involving police officers resulting in death, serious injury, allegations of sexual assault, or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

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