Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has concluded that no charges will be laid after a Windsor man was injured during an arrest dating back to late February.
At around 1:10 p.m. on February 22, 2021, Windsor police responded to a 911 call regarding a domestic dispute from the manager of an apartment building on Mill Street near Felix Avenue.
According to police, a man violated a court-ordered condition when he attended his ex-girlfriend's residence. During the incident, the accused reportedly got into an argument with the victim which ended in her being physically assaulted and injured.
Officers arrived and were told the suspect had fled the apartment from the balcony. Police began to search the area with the help of a police service dog. The man's scent was later tracked to a property a short distance away, where he was said to have been hiding behind a brick wall.
"The dog bit into the complainant’s right pant leg, and pulled him into the walkway and onto the ground," read an analysis from SIU Director Joseph Martino. "The pant leg tore free of the complainant, whose face was then bit by the dog. The [officer] commanded the dog to disengage, which the dog did, and pulled it away from the complainant. Shortly thereafter, the complainant was handcuffed."
Following the arrest, the man was taken to hospital and treated for a laceration to the right side of his face, which required ten stitches.
Martino said at the time, the second dog bite seemed problematic as the suspect was already on the ground with a witness officer nearby. He added that due to the nature of the call, and the accused's method of escaping, officers had reasonable grounds to assume the man was violent and bent on escape.
It was later concluded by Martino that the dog's training in this incident was properly executed and necessary to keep hold of the suspect to prevent him from a second attempt at fleeing as the dog lost contact with the man when his pant leg tore off.
As a result, the SIU determined the use of force was reasonable surrounding the circumstances of the arrest and there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges.
