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11 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,S eptem ber 10,2020 insidehalton.com 3325 Harvester Road, Burlington, ON 905-639-6678 barrysjewellers.com NEW LOCATION WEBUY YOURGOLD • Gold and Silver Jewellery • Coins & Platinum • Larger Diamonds • FineWatches • Medals &More Ontario's Special Investi- gations Unit (SIU) has de- cided no criminal charges will be filed against two Hal- ton police officers in con- nection with injuries a man received during a Feb. 18 confrontation at an Oak- ville hotel. According to the SIU re- port, at about 12:35 p.m., the desk clerk at the Wyecroft Road hotel called 911 to re- port that a guest had barri- caded himself in his room and threatened to hurt him- self. The clerk also reported that the 51-year-old man had turned on the shower, flooded the room and taken a lamp into the shower. Members of the Halton Police Tactical Response Unit attended the scene and attempted to talk the man into coming out. The man again threat- ened to hurt himself and re- fused to leave the room. After several minutes police decided to force their way inside and made an ap- prehension under the Men- tal Health Act. During this arrest, police said, the man put up a fight, kicking one officer repeat- edly and attempting to bite this officer. Two officers used their Tasers to subdue the man. He was also struck on the legs and punched on the side of the head before being handcuffed. The individual was tak- en to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital where he was diagnosed with a punctured lung and frac- tured ribs, however, a note in the SIU report said there is evidence suggesting the man had pre-existing inju- ries, including fractured ribs, before being arrested. In his report, SIU Direc- tor Joseph Martino said he is satisfied the Halton police officers did not cross the line in making this arrest. "The officers' interven- tion began from outside the room door as they tried to resolve the situation peace- fully via negotiation. While those efforts were only a few minutes long, I am sat- isfied that the officers' deci- sion to force entry into the room was well-grounded," said Martino. "The complainant was threatening harm to him- self and the circumstances were such that the officers could afford to wait no lon- ger. The hotel room was flooded and there was a gen- uine risk of an electrical fire being started. Once through the door, the com- plainant fought the officers and their attempts to secure his custody." Martino said in prior run-ins with police, the in- dividual was known to con- ceal weapons on himself and pointed out there was a knife and a pair of scissors on the floor in the area where the man was. In this context, Martino said he was satisfied that the Taser use and the other strikes were reasonable giv- en the concerns the officers had that the man would hurt himself or the officers. "Whether one or more of the complainant's injuries were inflicted by the police, the evidence falls short of establishing a reasonable belief that the officers acted unlawfully at any point dur- ing the incident," said Mar- tino. "Accordingly, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case and the file is closed." The SIU assigned four in- vestigators and one forensic investigator to this case. The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency that in- vestigates incidents involv- ing police officers where there has been death, seri- ous injury or allegations of sexual assault. Ontario Special Investigations Unit. Torstar file photo SIU SAYS NO CHARGES FOR POLICE OFFICERS IN HOTEL INCIDENT NEWS DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com