The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has determined two OPP officers did not commit a criminal offence in relation to an arrest last fall in Bracebridge.
On Nov. 2, 2022, police conducted a wellness check on a man at a Bracebridge motel after a family member called to say he might harm himself.
“The evidence establishes that the complainant was intoxicated but was initially receptive to the idea of accompanying the officers to hospital for a mental health assessment,” an SIU report stated. “However, after the officers entered his room to assist him in gathering some belongings for his trip to hospital, the complainant became defiant when he was prevented from consuming more alcohol prior to his departure. The complainant was handcuffed and searched, after which he spat at the officers.”
The report notes “one or both of the officers” reacted by taking the man down to the floor. Neither officer took part in an interview with the SIU, nor did they provide their notes from the incident.
The man was arrested for assaulting a peace officer. He was taken to the Bracebridge OPP detachment and put in a cell. The next morning, he complained of leg pain, was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a fractured right knee.
“SIU director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that either officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s arrest and injury,” the SIU stated in a news release. “There was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case, and the file has been closed.”
