Two Guelph police officers have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the arrest of a 64-year-old man that was caught on video and widely shared on social media.
The man suffered fractured ribs in the incident.
The SIU ruled that the force used in the arrest was necessary to execute the arrest.
The complete SIU report can be found here.
The video can be seen here.
On Jan. 12 police went to an address on Stevenson Street to arrest the unidentified man on an outstanding warrant in another jurisdiction.
A struggle took place during the arrest of the man, who was eventually arrested, later released and then taken to hospital with sore ribs, leg and back.
The video, captured on a cell phone by a passerby, showed the officer striking the man several times as he attempted to arrest him on the front steps of a house last January.
The man was uncooperative as he tried to go back into the house to retrieve paperwork, the investigation found.
“The Complainant insisted that he be allowed to retrieve his paperwork and refused to relinquish his grip of the railing. SO #1 (subject officer 1) called for assistance and then delivered a left-handed punch to the Complainant’s left ribs area. The officer again radioed for assistance and then threw two or three more punches to the Complainant’s torso. At some point, SO #1 was able to gain control of the Complainant’s left arm. However, it was not until the second of two knee strikes, the first to the Complainant’s left thigh and the second to his groin, that the Complainant let go of the railing completely and the officer was able to pull him to the ground.”
The force was necessary, the SIU found, because the man refused to let go of a metal railing.
“The officer continued to try to pry the Complainant free of his grip of the railing, delivering several punches to his midsection, and knee strikes to the left leg and groin area. This force, I am satisfied, was not delivered indiscriminately. Rather, between each strike, SO #1 provided the Complainant time to release his grip. It was only after the groin strike that the Complainant finally did so,” wrote Joseph Martino, Director of the Special Investigations Unit.
