CORNWALL, Ontario – No criminal charges will be laid against Cornwall police officers who were being investigated after a developmentally-delayed man was injured during an arrest earlier this year.
The province’s special investigations unit director Tony Loparco found there are no reasonable grounds to believe that any of the three subject officers committed a criminal offence when the trio arrested a 43-year-old man in May at the Cornwall train station.
The man suffered several cracked ribs and a broken nose during the incident.
“The 43-year-old man does not speak English and has a delayed mental capacity,” said Loparco. “As was later explained by the man and a case worker, the man loves trains. Unfortunately, his attempts to communicate what he meant by his actions were unsuccessful because the officers could not understand him.
“That said, I cannot find – on reasonable grounds – that the subject officers’ actions resulted in criminal liability. The officers were acting pursuant to their common law duties to preserve the peace and protect the public when they approached the man.
“When he refused to leave the small washroom and started reaching into his clothing, it was appropriate to place him in an investigative detention to ensure the officers’ safety.”
The incident was caught on security cameras and reviewed by investigators.
“From all accounts – the man’s, the officers’, and the surveillance footage – it appears the officers did not use more force than was reasonably necessary,” added Loparco.
The SIU had assigned five investigators and one forensic investigator to probe the circumstances of this incident. Two of the subject officers participated in SIU interviews and provided copies of their duty notes. The third officer declined to be interviewed or provide a copy of his duty notes, as is his legal right, the agency added.
The investigation found the following, the SIU said in a release:
“Just before 10:15 p.m. on May 17th, Cornwall Community Police officers were called to the Via Rail train station. They were investigating reports of a suspicious person who had been watching the trains for several days. When two of the officers arrived, they found the man in a nearly empty train station. However, when they approached him, the man walked into the washroom.
“The officers followed him into the small washroom and requested he step out into the lobby. Agitated and refusing to leave the washroom, the man began to rapidly move his hands in and out of his pockets. Officers attempted to get the man to move to a safer location to commence their investigation. The man began to flail his arms and push one of the officers, at which point the officers attempted to gain control of the 43-year-old.
“When the man did not submit to police attempts to control him, officers deployed a (Taser), struck the man with a baton, and delivered several knee strikes before the man stopped resisting and was handcuffed.”
