The Special Investigations Unit has found no basis for proceeding with criminal charges after a 59-year-old man was seriously injured by a Grey Bruce police dog during his arrest.
The provincial police watchdog's mandate was engaged after the incident was reported on April 14, 2026.
According to the SIU report, uniformed OPP and the Emergency Response Team gathered outside the man's residence in Lion's Head to serve a Feeney warrant, authorizing entry to take him into custody. Police said the arrest was thought to have some risk, as one year earlier, the man had attacked officers entering the home with a fire poker.
The man did not answer the door when police knocked, and was eventually found hiding in a second floor bedroom with the lights off. He was armed with a bow and arrow and several knives. The first officer that opened the door said the man aimed the bow at him, so they took cover on the stairs.
The police dog team was deployed, and the service dog bit the man's right arm when it entered the room. One officer hit the man with five rounds from an Anti-riot Weapon Enfield (ARWEN), while others deployed Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) charges.
The man was arrested, and taken to local hospital for treatment of the wound. He was later transferred to London when doctors advised it would require surgery.
Despite the severity of the injury, SIU Director Joseph Martino wrote that the force used was reasonable given the circumstance.
"Sending in the dog to bite and hold the Complainant, as was the dog’s training, made sense as the use of other less-lethal options on hand – CEWs and the ARWEN – would have exposed the officers to the bow and arrow before they could be used," wrote Martino. "While the dog caused a serious bite wound that required surgery, the severity of the injury was the combined product of the Complainant fighting the dog as the dog attempted to maintain its grip."
With no basis to proceed with criminal charges, SIU has closed the case file.
