Sudbury police were justified in incident where suspect was tazed, burst an eardrum

The province’s Special Investigations Unit. (File photo)

Sudbury police who tazed and punched a suspect attempting to flee in 2022 have been cleared by the province’s Special Investigations Unit.

SIU director Joseph Martino said there was no evidence police did anything wrong when they were arresting the 23-year-old man Oct., 2, 2022.

“Officers pulled over the driver of a car in the area of Grandview Boulevard, just east of Rideau Street, and attempted to arrest the passenger,” the SIU said in a news release.

The man was wanted on two outstanding arrest warrants for probation violations and other offences.

“The man resisted and attempted to flee,” the SIU said.

“Officers took the man to the ground, followed by a number of punches by the subject official and multiple conducted energy weapon discharges by another officer.”

His investigation was “unable to reasonably conclude it was excessive as the evidence indicates the man tried to break free and avoid arrest,” Martino said.

“Additionally, during a search after his arrest, a knife was in the man’s possession.”

While it’s likely the man’s eardrum burst while he was being punched by police, “there were no reasonable grounds to believe it was attributable to unlawful conduct on the part of the officers,” Martino said.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police in Ontario when interaction with the public results in death or injury.

Read the full release here.