London police officers cleared in case of man who suffered ruptured spleen during arrest

The headquarters for the Special Investigations Unit is seen here.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has determined that three officers with the London Police Service (LPS) did not commit a criminal offence during the arrest of a 47-year-old man that resulted in his spleen rupturing earlier this year.

According to a press release from the SIU, on Aug. 18, 2022, London police officers responded to a call involving a stolen vehicle. The man had stolen a vehicle and crashed into a police cruiser while attempting to flee.

The SIU said during his arrest, officers forced the man out of the car and onto the road, after which the man resisted arrest and refused to give up his arms. During this time, the man was punched twice in the left hip by one officer, and was struck with knee strikes in the thighs and torso by a second officer.

Following his arrest, the man was taken to the police station and then to hospital where a medical assessment did not reveal the presence of any serious injury.

According to the SIU, the man, still feeling unwell the next day, returned to hospital where he was diagnosed with a ruptured spleen. The spleen was later surgically removed.

Following the conclusion of the SIU investigation, “Director Martino accepted that the force brought to bear was commensurate with the exigencies of the situation.”

The release added that Martino therefore found “no reasonable grounds to believe that the subject officials comported themselves other than lawfully in their dealings with the man, leaving no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case.”

The SIU is an independent authority responsible for investigating the conduct of officials, such as police, that resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault, or the discharge of a weapon at another person.