The Special Investigations Unit has closed its investigation into the actions of an Ontario Provincial Police officer after a suspect suffered a serious neck wound during an incident in Belle River last summer.
OPP officers were called to a crash on Notre Dame Street in Belle River after a man jumped out of an SUV before it hit a building.
The driver got away, but residents called 911 to report a man trespassing onto properties west of West Belle River Road. They believed he had a rifle.
Eventually, an officer found the man in a garage on Diesbourg Boulevard and confronted the suspect. When she tried to talk to him, he ran at her, so she retreated into the cruiser.
The suspect then grabbed her rifle through an open window and ran towards several nearby homes.
Eventually, the officer found him in Belle River without the firearm.
The man had suffered a neck wound, so paramedics took him to the hospital for surgery.
Police found the rifle, which hadn't been fired, and no one in the community was hurt.
The Special Investigations Unit viewed a cell phone video of the suspect's rescue from the river.
Investigators are satisfied the officer's use of force was justified since there were reports the man was armed. It also ruled the suspect received timely care for his injuries.
"As there are no reasonable grounds to believe the so or any other officer used excessive force against the complainant or transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law in their dealings with him, there is no basis for proceeding with charges in this case," wrote Director Joseph Martino.
