Police in Sault Ste. Marie have been cleared in a case where their efforts to arrest a suspect in a homicide ended with the complainant losing three teeth.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit concluded there was no evidence that warranted criminal charges in the incident, which took place Dec. 11, 2024.
The complainant in the case was wanted by York Regional Police for a homicide in the Toronto area.
Sault police, along with officers from York Regional, converged on the suspect’s place in downtown Sault Ste. Marie early in the morning to take him into custody.
“The team forced their way into the home and went upstairs to the apartment,” the SIU said in its investigation report.
“As they prepared to forcibly enter the apartment, the door opened to reveal the complainant. The (police officer), positioned near the front of the stack of officers, physically engaged the complainant. The complainant was forced to the ground and handcuffed by the officer.”
Lost three teeth
It quickly emerged he had lost three teeth in the encounter, but the suspect declined medical attention.
SIU director Joseph Martino wrote that officers have the right to use reasonable force in certain circumstances. In this case, police were arresting a homicide suspect, who retreated back into the apartment when police entered.
The officer grabbed the accused in a bear hug, and the two fell to the ground after a brief struggle, with the officer landing on top of the complainant.
“With the complainant in a prone position, the (officer) proceeded to handcuff him behind the back,” Martino wrote.
“The force used on this account of what happened, principally, a takedown, made sense given the potential presence of firearms in the apartment and the associated need to take the complainant into custody as soon as possible.”
While there was an initial report that police punched the suspect in the face as soon as the door opened, Martino said that is not the picture that emerged during the investigation.
“On this record, there being no reason to believe that the evidence of undue force is any likelier to be closer to the truth that the police evidence, and some reason to doubt it,” Martino said.
“I am unable to reasonably conclude that the force used by the (police officer) was unwarranted.”
Read the full SIU report here.
