Sudbury police cleared in arrest that left man with broken ribs

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has cleared Sudbury police of wrongdoing in an arrest last February that left a drunk man with three broken ribs.

While the injury took place while the man was being handcuffed, SIU director Joseph Martino concluded there was not enough evidence to conclude that excessive force was used.

The incident began Feb. 11 at 2: 52 a.m. when the man – referred to as the 'complainant' – called 911 to report that his girlfriend was assaulting him.

Police responded to an address in the Cambrian Heights area of the city to discover that the man, who was visiting from Fauquier, was having a major argument with his girlfriend inside her aunt's place.

"Copious amounts of alcohol," the man replied when asked how the argument began.

It quickly emerged that all parties were drunk. Police were especially concerned when they learned the woman's child was sleeping inside the residence.

The 911 operator had difficulty hearing what was happening because of the ongoing argument between the man and his girlfriend, who kept demanding that the man "get the f—ck out" of her aunt's place.

"The complainant said, 'I’m getting assaulted again,' and told (his girlfriend) 'Leave me alone.' The call-taker told him to stop yelling at her and go outside."

Once outside, the 911 operator asked the man if he needed an ambulance. The man said no. When asked if his girlfriend needed an ambulance, he replied that "she needed a psychiatrist," the SIU said.

"He was told not to joke, and replied he was not joking, and (then said his girlfriend) did not need an ambulance."

Public intoxication

Once police were at the scene, they decided to arrest the man for public intoxication.

"The officers moved to arrest the complainant and there followed a physical altercation of several minutes during which he was forced to the ground and subjected to multiple strikes," the SIU said.

"The complainant was eventually handcuffed behind the back and taken into custody."

He complained of pain, but nothing was found when he was examined at Health Sciences North. But on Feb. 16, he was diagnosed with broken ribs when he taken to hospital by OPP in Fauquier.

Martino concluded that "the evidence falls short of any reasonable suggestion that the complainant was subjected to unlawful force at the hands of the officers."

The man made several claims – that police blindsided him with a punch to the head and that once on the ground, he offered no resistance but was punched "20 times to the head and repeatedly kneed in the ribs."

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But he made other claims – such as that his clothes were "violently removed from his person at the station," which were refuted by the police video.

Police said he resisted arrest – "kicking his legs and refusing to release his arms" – and was struck multiple times only until he was handcuffed.

"Their evidence speaks of force that, while significant, was made necessary to subdue and take the complainant into custody," Martino wrote.

"On this record, there being no reason to believe that the more incriminating account is any likelier to be closer to the truth than the police evidence, and some reason to suspect it, the evidence in its totality is insufficient cogent to warrant being put to the test by a court."

Read the full report here.