Peel Regional Police officers have been cleared of criminal charges after a man was seriously injured in an arrest at a Mississauga strip mall.

The incident occurred in the parking lot of High Point Mall, 3415 Dixie Rd. at Bloor Street, at around 9:20 a.m. on May 16, according to a report from the Special Investigations Unit.

The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an official where there has been death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault.

Peel Regional Police officers responded to a call from a woman who reported that her 2023 Hyundai Sonata had been stolen. The woman used tracking technology to find the stolen car at the strip mall, the SIU said.

When police found the vehicle, officers told the 33-year-old man in the driver’s seat that he was under arrest.

“Out of the f**king car right now,” one officer said.

“You don’t have to do this,” the man responded. “This is my girlfriend’s car; I’m sleeping in it.”

The man didn’t leave the vehicle and the officer reached in to pull him out of the Sonata. The man resisted by holding onto the steering wheel, the SIU report stated.

After a period of struggle, the man was eventually removed from the vehicle, but he continued to fight as the officer attempted to place his arms behind his back. He grabbed hold of the driver’s door and window frame and refused to let go. The man was eventually forced away from the Sonata and brought to the ground by the officers.

The man refused to roll onto his front on the ground and surrender his arms to be handcuffed. The officers eventually maneuvered him face down to the ground. The man still refused to give up his arms. One officer dropped his right knee onto the man’s lower back, pinning him flat to the ground.

“Try your f**ing luck now. F**ing beat the f*k, out of you,” one officer said.

The officers forced the man’s left arm behind his back and handcuffed his hands together.

The man was transported to hospital following his arrest and diagnosed with rib fractures, some of which were old and others new, the SIU report stated.

The SIU found that the officers were within their rights to arrest the man in connection with the stolen vehicle report.

The SIU was unable to reasonably conclude the use of force was unlawful. The man “strenuously resisted arrest and proved a formidable challenge,” the SIU said.

“It took the combined efforts of two police officers over several minutes to remove him from the Sonata and force him to the ground,” SIU director Joseph Martino said in the report.

“In the result, while I accept that one or more of the Complainant’s rib fractures were incurred in the altercation that marked his arrest, there are no reasonable grounds to attribute the injuries to unlawful conduct on the part of the arresting officers,” Martino said. “As such, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case.”

However, Martino said there were possible contraventions of the Police Code of Conduct, including language that one officer directed at the man during the arrest, and an apparent late notification of the incident to the SIU.

Martino said he will be referring these matters to the police service for their review.


INsauga’s Editorial Standards and Policies

Last 30 Days: 28,041 Votes

All Time: 1,478,347 Votes

19 VOTES
Is the Canadian government handling the trade conflict with the U.S. well?

Win two tickets to The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival (GOCF)

Enter for an exclusive chance to win 2 tickets to Great Outdoors Comedy Festival (GOCF), a $500 Gift Card to Square One Shopping Centre, and a Visit Mississauga Swag Bag. The approximate retail value of the prize is $1,000.

“*” indicates required fields