No charges for Hamilton Police officers involved in arrest where man’s foot was broken: Watchdog
Published January 15, 2021 at 11:16 am
Ontario’s police watchdog has determined that there will be no charges laid against officers involved in an arrest in Hamilton in September 2020 where a suspect’s foot was broken.
In a press release issued Friday (Jan. 15), the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released the findings of their probe into the incident that took place in East Hamilton in the very early morning hours of Sept. 24.
According to the SIU, Hamilton Police responded to a break and enter in progress at a vape shop on Queenston at Nash.
Police say they saw two people enter the business and then flee into a waiting vehicle.
When HPS officers attempted to stop the vehicle, it rammed the cruisers but was then stopped trying to drive over a curb.
According to police, the three men in the car refused to get out, so the police officers broke the glass and extracted them out of the vehicle.
Videos
The three were arrested and one, a 54-year-old man, was sent to hospital to be treated for minor injuries, where it was discovered that his left foot sustained two fractures.
As a result, the SIU was called in to investigate the incident.
In their findings shared Friday, SIU’s director, Joseph Martino wrote:
“Since the Complainant had been caught engaging in breaking and entering, the police were lawfully entitled to arrest the Complainant without a warrant. The Complainant, by responding to this lawful arrest with extreme physical resistance, in turn granted the police officers the right, pursuant to section 25(1) of the Criminal Code, to use reasonable force in order to subdue him.
“For the foregoing reasons, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges against any police officer in this case, and the file is closed.”
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising