Ontario's police watchdog has closed its investigation and determined that no charges will be laid against OPP officers involved in an incident earlier this year that resulted in a man suffering facial injuries in St. Clair Township.
Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Director Joseph Martino said there were no reasonable grounds to believe that four OPP officers committed a criminal offence in connection to injuries sustained during an arrest in March.
The SIU report said a 32-year-old man was allegedly found to be in possession of a stolen vehicle in rural St. Clair Township on March 1. A warrant had also been issued for his arrest for breach of probation.
The accused allegedly resisted arrest and was punched two to three times as an officer tried to remove him from the truck.
"Once on the ground, the officers struck the man’s face, neck and legs while attempting to wrestle control of the man and handcuff him," read the report.
The 32-year-old was taken to the Petrolia detachment where he initially declined medical attention from paramedics. That evening, the accused asked to be taken to a hospital.
He was later diagnosed with a broken nose and a possibly broken orbital bone.
"While Director Martino accepted that the force used by one or more of the subject officials resulted in the man’s facial fracture or fractures, he was unable to reasonably conclude that any of the subject officials comported themselves unlawfully in their engagement with the man," the report read.
As a result, the file has been closed. The full SIU report can be found here.