The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has ended its investigation into an incident involving a Woodstock man who sustained a serious injury to his eye during his arrest.
At around 11 p.m. on March 14, Woodstock police responded to the Woodstock Museum for a complaint that a security guard had been assaulted by a man, the complainant, who had been sleeping on a bench in the area. The accused reportedly threw a stick at the security officer who told him he needed to leave the museum’s exterior grounds.
According to the SIU report, officers arrived within minutes of the incident and found the man in a parking lot behind Fanshawe College on Metcalf Street. One of the officers tried to speak with the suspect while inside their cruiser. Police allege the man reacted angrily to the officers’ presence, leading them to exit their vehicles and pursue the suspect.
When the officers pulled out their tasers, police said the man challenged them to use their firearms instead. Additional officers responded to the scene and the accused is said to have lunged towards one of them, resulting in him being tasered several times, however, none of the attempts at subduing the man worked.
One of the officers managed to tackle the man to the ground and he was arrested shortly after.
The man was later taken to hospital where it was learned that he had sustained a fracture to his left orbital bone, one of seven bones situated within the skull behind the eye.
SIU Director Joseph Martino ruled Tuesday that the officer’s use of force did not break the law.
“In the result, while it is unfortunate that the complainant suffered a fractured orbital bone in the process of being tackled by the [subject officer], there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the injury is attributable to unlawful conduct on the part of the officer,” read Martino’s decision.
The file is now closed.
The SIU investigates incidents involving police that have resulted in death, serious injury, or allegations of sexual assault.
