The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has concluded its investigation into the death of a 45-year-old man in Midland who was bitten by a police dog last October, saying that the deployment of the canine constituted “reasonably necessary force” and no charges will be laid.
On Tuesday evening, the SIU released the findings of its investigation into the actions of the Ontario Provincial Police officer who gave the green light to deploy the service dog during the Oct. 13 incident.
SIU Director Joseph Martino said he found no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s death.
READ MORE: SIU Concludes Investigation into Death of Man After Police Dog Bite in Midland
According to the SIU, the incident began that Friday afternoon in the parking lot of a liquidation shop on Bay Street, where concerned citizens reported seeing a man brandishing a firearm during a fight with another man.
When police arrived, the man who pulled the firearm, designated as the Complainant in the report, had already fled the scene in a vehicle. However, officers were able to track his vehicle using information given by witnesses.
Police subsequently attended the man’s address, and the SIU said attempts to have him surrender went unheeded. An officer, referred to as the subject official (SO) in the report, became in charge of the situation.
“Over the course of hours, multiple attempts to reach the Complainant inside the apartment were unsuccessful. These included phone calls, text messages and [communication] with a loudhailer,” the SIU said.
Just after 7 p.m., a woman got out of the apartment and was taken into custody without incident. She told police that the man was asleep. Three hours later, the SO authorized entry into the apartment.
“The plan was to send in a drone to ascertain the Complainant’s location. The tactic failed when the drone malfunctioned. The next attempt to enter the apartment would be by way of a police dog. Once located, the dog would bite and hold the Complainant pending the arrival of officers to effect his arrest,” the SIU said.
The police dog, fitted with a camera providing a live video feed to his handler, was sent in through the apartment door and found the Complainant on the bed. The SIU said the dog latched onto the left arm of the man, who screamed in pain.
Officers shortly entered the apartment and took the man into custody. Paramedics examined him before he was transported to the hospital to be treated for the dog bite.
The SIU said the man sustained tendon damage and was referred to a plastic surgeon before being released into the custody of police with a prescription for antibiotics and pain medication.
Days later, on Oct. 17 and 18, the man was transported from the correctional centre to the hospital for treatment of infection. He was again taken to the hospital five days later “because of odd behaviour,” the SIU said.
On Nov. 4, he was admitted as the infection got worse. The SIU said his condition deteriorated, and the next day, he was found by a nurse hypoxic and pulseless. The man was subsequently pronounced dead.
The final SIU report did not include a cause of death.
“At the end of the investigation, it remains unclear whether and to what extent the police dog bite and the resulting infection that set in are causally related to the Complainant’s death,” SIU Director Martino said.
“Be that as it may, as I am satisfied that the dog’s deployment constituted reasonably necessary force, I am unable to reasonably conclude that the Complainant’s death is the result of unlawful conduct on the part of the subject official.”
