THUNDER BAY — An independent investigation has found no evidence that a Thunder Bay police officer committed a crime in connection with a broken arm suffered by a 17-year-old girl.
The case dates back to Sept. 7, 2023 when police were called to a residential neighbourhood about a youth who had allegedly breached her bail conditions.
The individual who called police about her behaviour reported that the intoxicated girl had complained earlier that she had fallen at a park and had broken her hand.
When queried by the investigating officers, she denied being hurt and said she was drunk from consuming a bottle of liquor, but during the process of being handcuffed she began screaming, saying her hand was broken.
According to witness testimony, she forcefully resisted while being escorted up a set of stairs to the police cruiser outside.
The following day, following her release from custody, the youth went to hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured forearm.
Joseph Martino, director of the SIU, said in a decision released Thursday that he's satisfied the officers involved in the case were engaged in the lawful execution of their duties, and that they used only reasonable force in their dealings with the complainant.
He said body-worn-camera footage showed she was arrested in a controlled fashion, and that the force they used was proportionate to the level of her resistance.
Martino concluded that it remains unclear precisely when the injury was sustained.
"I accept it might have happened at some point when she was forcibly removed from the house. It might also have happened before the officers' arrival," he said.
Regardless of how it happened, Martino said he is "satisfied the officers comported themselves within the limits of the criminal law throughout their engagement with the complainant."