OPP officer cleared by SIU after man suffers multiple facial fractures

[Michael Jack]

COLLINGWOOD — The province’s police watchdog has determined a Collingwood OPP officer did not commit a crime after a man was injured during an arrest last summer.

On July 7, 2024, police attended a forested vacant lot on High Street in Collingwood to respond to a complaint about a man who had set up a tent and was living there.

Upon arrival, the responding officer instructed the 27-year-old man that he had 15 minutes to pack up his belongings and move along.

However, according to the province’s Special Investigation’s Unit’s (SIU) report, which was released May 4, the man became belligerent.

“He verbally taunted the officer and asked for some additional time to pack up his belongings,” wrote SIU director Joseph Martino in his findings. “The (officer) agreed, but then decided to arrest the complainant for trespassing when it appeared to him that the complainant was delaying his departure.”

Evidence considered included in-car camera footage, OPP communications recordings, cellphone video taken with the man's own phone as well as cellphone video from a civilian witness, civilian witness testimony, notes from multiple officers who were on the scene, photographs of injuries and a medical report from Collingwood General and Marine Hospital.

According to the report, the 27-year-old man was known to police. The person who called in the complaint characterized the man as being "verbally aggressive."

Martino found the officer took hold of the man and a physical altercation followed. The officer struck the man by punching him multiple times, and pinned him to the ground.

After that, the officer extricated himself from the fight and drew his conducted energy weapon, pointing it at the man.

Another officer arrived at the scene and assisted in taking the man into custody. He was taken to hospital following the arrest and was diagnosed with multiple facial fractures.

“The complainant was seriously injured in the course of his arrest by OPP officers in Collingwood,” wrote Martino.

Martino notes in his findings the complainant was unlawfully on private property, had been asked to leave and failed to do so within a reasonable time frame.

“I am satisfied that the (officer) was within his rights in deciding to arrest him,” wrote Martino. “With respect to the force used ... I am unable to reasonably conclude it was more than was warranted.”

He notes the evidence indicates the man resisted the officers' efforts to secure him in handcuffs and put up a fight.

“In the circumstances, the upwards of a half-dozen strikes by the officer to the complainant’s head and torso would not necessarily seem disproportionate occurring, as they did, in the heat of the battle,” wrote Martino.

The SIU is civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an official where there has been death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault.

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