An SIU vehicle.  (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn Media)An SIU vehicle. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn Media)
Windsor

OPP officer cleared in June arrest in Belle River

No criminal charges will be filed against an Ontario Provincial Police officer in connection with an arrest in Lakeshore this summer.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was called in after the suspect suffered a concussion during the arrest at West Beach in Belle River on June 13. 

Officers were called to the beach at around 9:45 p.m. after getting reports that the man, and his companions, had been bothering and assaulting beachgoers. The 43-year-old man from Tecumseh was arrested along with two other people.

At the OPP detachment in Lakeshore, the man became argumentative with an officer, who hit the suspect in the face with an elbow and put him in a holding cell. The report from the SIU said the man was released the next day, and after getting medical treatment, was diagnosed with a concussion.

In issuing the report, SIU Director Joseph Martino said the officer had reason to be concerned that the man would turn violent just before the officer’s resort to force, and that there was no evidence that the force was excessive. Therefore, the file is being closed.

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