The SIU has completed its investigation into an incident involving a 52-year-old who claimed a Stratford police officer gave him a concussion.
The man contacted police back on July 2 and indicated that he wanted commit suicide. When two officers arrived at his home they found the man intoxicated. One of the officers asked the man to put his alcholic drink down several times and when the man refused, he tried to take it from him. The man tried to pull away from the officer, fell and hit his head on the pavement and briefly lost consciousness.
He came to in the back of a police car, bleeding and in handcuffs.
Police claimed the man continued to be confrontational while in custody.
He was taken to hospital where it was later determined that he was suffering from a concussion.
Tony Loparco, the SIU Director, said he believed the officer “did no more than grab the complainant by the arm and spin him around to handcuff him behind his back, but then lost his grip and the complainant ended up falling hard on the ground.”
While he “used no more force than legally justified to gain control of the complainant, handcuff him, and take him to be psychiatrically assessed at hospital” Loparco was also critical of the officer’s actions.
“I am firmly of the view that had this matter been handled with a bit more tact and finesse, and a bit less confrontation and aggression on the [officer’s] part, this incident could have been entirely avoided.”
The officer will not face criminal charges in connection to the incident.
