Tazed and bitten in the face: Sudbury police dealt with some wild cases last month

In one case in Sudbury last month, an accused took control of a police officer's CEW, delivering multiple shocks to the patrol officer and then biting the officer in the face. (File)

The monthly police services board in Greater Sudbury gives the public insight into the day-to-day operations of police, including some of the cases they deal with far from the spotlight.

At the May meeting of the board, members heard a report about an April 8 incident in which police clocked a motorcycle driver going 138 km/h on MR35, where the limit is 80 km/h.

When police tried to pull him over, he stopped his bike and fled the area on foot.

“The officer located the accused and while placing him under arrest was confronted with the male wanting to engage in a full-on fight resisting arrest,” the report to the board said.

“The officer deployed a controlled energy weapon (CEW) and at one point during the altercation, the accused took control of the officers’ CEW and turned it towards the officer, delivering multiple shocks to the patrol officer and then biting the officer in the face. In the end, the patrol officer was able to control the accused and turn him over to arriving officers.”

The suspect was charged with multiple offences, while the officer went to hospital for treatment and has recovered.

Facebook Marketplace dispute leads to assault

An arranged fight ended badly in the city when a dispute that started on Facebook Marketplace spilled into real life.

Police were told “the victim was selling an item on Facebook Marketplace when a verbal dispute ensued with a potential buyer,” the report said.

For whatever reason, the two people involved agreed to meet and fight it out, and the victim gave the suspect their address.

“However, the suspect arrived with two additional subjects,” the police report said.

“The victim was struck across the face with a bar and shot multiple times with a handgun-style BB gun. One of the suspects brandished a knife towards the victim. All three subjects fled the scene. All three suspects were located, arrested, charged, and held for bail.

Tied up with electrical cords

On April 30, a 47-year-old suspect punched a victim several times in the head and then stole their keys and wallet and tied the victim to a chair with electrical cords.

But after tying them up, they apparently left the victim with access to a phone because the victim called police as soon as the suspect left the area.

“The victim did not require medical care,” police said.

“The accused had left the scene prior to police arrival and subsequently an arrest warrant was issued for robbery and forcible confinement.”

Some good, but ‘alarming,’ news

After years of wasting resources responding to false alarms, a new policy is having a dramatic impact.

Since Jan. 1, police in Sudbury no longer automatically respond when burglar and other alarms go off.

Instead, security firms responsible for the alarms have to verify criminal activity is taking place before police will take action.

The change is an attempt to save a major source of wasted resources. In 2021, 93 per cent of security alarms that police in Sudbury responded to were false, adding up to 1,112 hours spent investigating false emergencies.

Since the implementation of the new program, however, false alarms have plummeted.

“We responded to 72 alarm calls in April, in comparison to 238 in April of 2023, a decrease of 166,” the police report said. 

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