THUNDER BAY - The Special Investigations Unit has determined that no charges are warranted against a Thunder Police Service officer after a man suffered lacerations to his buttocks during a bar brawl.
The incident took place on Oct. 28, 2020 just before 11 p.m. at a south side bar where officers were responding to reports of a fight involving multiple people.
“Upon entering the premises, the officers walked in on a barroom brawl in progress. The Complainant was one of the involved parties,” Joseph Martino, SIU director, writes in his report.
Officers ordered the individuals to stand down and then physically intervened to pull the individuals apart.
“Bottles were thrown at the officers and the Witness Officer found himself being attacked by a number of males, one of whom pulled his jacket over his head,” Martino writes.
“As this was occurring, the Subject Officer was grabbed in a headlock by the Complainant and tossed to the floor as he was trying to free a male who was being assaulted by a number of other men.”
The Complainant crawled on top of the Subject Officer and the two exchanged punches. The Witness Officer, who was struggling with other individuals, was able to break away and punch the Complainant in the head, allowing the other officer to free himself from underneath.
The Complainant exited the bar and was arrested by the officers without incident. Officers then observed a large amount of blood running down the man’s leg and he was transported to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre for treatment.
At the hospital, the complaint was found to have multiple lacerations to his buttock that required surgery due to the deepness of the injury.
As part of the investigation, three civilian witnesses were identified, as well as the Subject Officer and the Witness Officer.
The Subject Officer, as is a legal right, declined to be interviewed but did provide notes for the investigators to review.
The investigative team also obtained several cell phone videos of the incident as well as surveillance video from the bar.
“On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the Subject Officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the Complainant’s arrest and injuries,” Martino said in his report.
Martino goes on to write that as per Section 25(1) of the Criminal Code, officers are “immune from criminal liability for force used in the course of their duties provided such force was reasonably necessary in the execution of an act that they were required or authorized to do by law.”
The arrest of the Complainant was lawful, Martino said, and the officers did little more than defend themselves when attacked by an unruly crowd.
“The Complainant was a large man and was clearly getting the better of the Subject Officer. He had thrown the officer to the floor as the Subject Officer was coming to the aid of a man under attack, and was striking him from up top,” Martino writes.
“The Subject Officer, from ground-level, punched the Complainant but the blows were ineffective in thwarting the attack. The Witness officer, responding to his partner’s request for help while still embroiled in an altercation with other males, managed to make it over to the Complainant and deliver a strike to the head.”
Martino said it is unclear how the Complainant suffered the lacerations but noted there was broken glass on the floor during the incident.
“I am unable to reasonably conclude that the force used by the officers, which was commensurate and proportional to the force they were facing, was excessive in the circumstances,” Martino writes.
“There is no evidence that the officers slashed or stabbed the Complainant at any point or that their conduct was other than lawful throughout their interaction with him. Accordingly, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case and the file is closed.”
