Halifax police officer won’t be charged after man accused of smashing bus windows injured

The waiting area of the Serious Incident Response Team, the province's independent police watchdog agency, is seen in Halifax on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

A Halifax Regional Police officer will not be charged after a man accused of causing a disturbance on a transit bus last spring was injured while being arrested.

Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) says it found no reasonable grounds to believe the police officer acted with excessive force that night.

Halifax police received a call that a man was causing a disturbance on a Halifax Transit bus the night of April 7. Witnesses said a man who appeared to be intoxicated was smashing windows on the bus and taunting other passengers.

Police confirmed windows on the bus had been broken and the suspect had fled on foot. One witness told police the man may have had a knife.

Officers found the man in the area of Scot Street and Joseph Howe Drive and told him he was under arrest. SiRT says the man acted aggressively, bit one of the officers, drawing blood, and resisted arrest.

SiRT says several officers had to subdue the man and it’s believed he was injured at that time.

“The male continued to be aggressive in the police vehicle and while being held in the HRP Prisoner Care Facility,” said SiRT in a news release Thursday. “The following morning the male was brought to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken rib.”

Halifax Regional Police referred the incident to SiRT on April 8.

SiRT determined during its investigation that the officer’s use of force was justified and not excessive so charges will not be laid.

SiRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page