A Sarnia Police officer has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing following an arrest back in July.
The province’s Special Investigations Unit was called after a police altercation with a trespasser at the Insignia Hotel on July 23rd.
According to investigators, police asked the man to leave the hotel, but he allegedly refused and threatened the officers. Officers grabbed the man and a struggle ensued.At one point, the accused allegedly tried to grab one of the officer’s firearms.
The SIU report says officers punched and kicked the man, and once at the police station, the accused refused to leave the cruiser and kicked at the officers and one officer kicked back.
The man later complained of chest pain and shortness of breath and was taken to hospital. He was diagnosed with fractured ribs, a broken nose, and a collapsed lung.
In his report, SIU Director Joseph Martino accepts the man was injured during the altercation with police, but says there are no grounds to believe his injuries could be attributed to any unlawful conduct on the part of the officers involved.
