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No Charges in CBRP Arrest that led to Broken Rib
The province's independent Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) today released its report regarding its investigation into a February 3, 2017 arrest of a 37-year-old male in Sydney. During the arrest outside of a home on Millview Drive the male suffered a broken rib.
Shortly before 11 p.m. police were called to the home because of noise complaints. When they arrived the young female resident asked them to clear the home of over 100 people. While that was happening, the male was pushing people. When police tried to get him to stop, he threw a punch at one officer. At that point, a struggle ensued between two police officers and the man, which wound up outside on the driveway.
Several witnesses saw the encounter. Some described the actions of police as significant, including kneeing the male in the body and head. Others did not see the same actions, and thought the police were having a difficult time with the male. It was clear the male was aggressive with police the entire time. He was eventually handcuffed and placed in the police vehicle, which he then damaged by kicking at the windows.
A short cell phone video showed the police struggling with the aggressive male. Photos and medical records did not show any bruising or other injury to the male that would be expected by the blows that were described by some of the witnesses. As well, there was no bruise associated with the area of the rib injury. The male himself did not have a recollection of the struggle due to alcohol consumption, and apologized to officers while at the hospital.
The main question was whether the officers used excessive force during the struggle. Given the aggressiveness of the male the amount of force needed was significant. However, other than the broken rib which may have been caused when the officers and male fell on slippery ground, there were no injuries consistent with excessive force. As a result, the evidence did not support any finding that the officers involved should face any criminal charges.
A complete copy of the report is available at http://sirt.novascotia.ca.
SIRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia. Investigations are under the direction and control of independent civilian director Ron MacDonald, who is solely responsible for decisions respecting the laying of any charge.
Media Contact:
Ron MacDonald, QC
Director
902-424-8400 (o)
902-718-9707 (m)
