Sudbury, Ont., police cleared in incident where suspect suffered broken neck during struggle with officers: SIU

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit headquarters in Mississauga, Ont. (Colin Perkel/The Canadian Press)

The director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has determined that there are no grounds to believe a Greater Sudbury police officer committed a crime during a difficult arrest in which a suspect suffered a broken neck earlier this year.

An undated photo of the Greater Sudbury Police Services Crest on an officer's uniform. (File Photo/CTV News Northern Ontario)

Joseph Martino said in his decision there is little doubt the man was injured during his arrest, but that the members of the Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) used reasonable force given the circumstances involved.

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Martino said the incident occurred on May 22 in the late afternoon when officers conducted a traffic stop near Cedar Street west of Paris Street.

There were multiple warrants in effect for the man’s arrest, leading to the traffic stop, according to the SIU report.

Shortly before 4 p.m., a police dispatcher warned the officer conducting the stop that the suspect had a record for violence – including assault with a weapon and firearm offences. The dispatcher subsequently arranged for backup units to join the officer.

“The (suspect) strenuously resisted arrest, first inside the vehicle where two CEW (conducted energy weapon) discharges failed to subdue him and then on the roadway,” Martino said.

“He refused to release his arms to be handcuffed and flailed his legs. The officers responded with force, including the use of a CEW and multiple hand and knee strikes.”

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The evidence, including photos and GSPS recordings, showed the suspect tried to escape in his vehicle before officers subdued him. After he was placed in a police cruiser, he managed to free himself from “the hobble ties” restraining him then kicked and damaged the police vehicle.

Greater Sudbury Police Service provided the Special Investigations Unit with three photographs taken of the damage caused to the window and door frame of a police cruiser. The three photos of the GSPS cruiser with a damaged rear driver-side window are shown in this figure. (Special Investigations Unit/Greater Sudbury Police)

At the police station, officers again had to struggle to put the restraints back on the suspect and multiple officers were struck by kicks from the suspect.

An undated photo of Greater Sudbury Police Service headquarters. (File photo/CTV News Northern Ontario)

“The hobble restraint was eventually affixed, and the (suspect) was carried into the booking area,” the SIU report said.

“The (suspect) was placed on the floor on his right side in the booking area with officers nearby holding him down. The supervising officer, positioned by the complainant’s head, placed his right knee in the area of his head and neck. The complainant was processed and placed in a cell.”

The suspect was taken to hospital sometime later and diagnosed with a fractured neck vertebra.

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Martino said the use of force – including discharging CEWs, knee strikes and hand strikes –“was significant but made necessary by the extent of the man’s fight and the need to arrest him as soon as possible given their position on a live road.”

An undated photo of a Greater Sudbury Police Service vehicle parked in the city. (File photo/CTV News Northern Ontario)

The SIU director also noted that once properly restrained police officers did not deliver any additional strikes.

“The force used by the officers at the station was similarly justified,” he said.

As a result, Martino said he accepted that the suspect’s injury occurred at some point during his “physical engagement with the GSPS officers,” he was unable to reasonably conclude the injury could be attributed to any unlawful conduct on the part of Sudbury police.

“As such, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case,” he said.

“The file is closed.”

The SIU did not release the suspect’s name or those of the officers involved in the arrest.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police officers, special constables and peace officers that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

The SIU’s full report on the incident can be found here.