Officers Cleared in Struggle with Man

The province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) has released its report in relation to an incident involving RCMP Officers.  

On August 6, 2021, officers responded to a 911 call about a man threatening to harm himself.  Upon arrival, officers concluded the circumstances justified placing the man in custody and taking him to hospital under the provisions of the Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act.

When the officers tried to arrest him, a struggle ensued when the man dropped to the floor and placed his arms underneath him, refusing to provide his hands for handcuffing. When the officers were able to gain access to the man’s hands, they were handcuffed in front of his body instead of behind his back as officers were aware the man had a previous shoulder injury.

The man was transported to the hospital and released after being examined both mentally and physically. There were no physical injuries to the man noted during this hospital visit.

On August 9, 2021, the man went to the RCMP detachment in Bible Hill, complaining about an injury to his hand which he stated had occurred during his arrest three days earlier. The RCMP referred the matter to SiRT later that day.

The main question was whether the force used by officers during the arrest was excessive and did that force result in a serious injury to the man?

The evidence showed the police had the right to arrest the man. The force used by the officers to control the man was reasonable and justified as necessary. No excessive force was used and any injury to the male’s hand was unintentional and as a result of the struggle with police. Therefore, no charges are warranted against the officers.

The full report is available at http://sirt.novascotia.ca.

SIRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia. Investigations are under the direction and control of independent civilian director Felix Cacchione, who is solely responsible for decisions respecting the laying of any charge.

Media Contact:

Felix Cacchione

Director

902-718-9707