SIU clears officer in arrest

Special Investigations Unit director Joseph Martino has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Peterborough police officer com- mitted a criminal offence after a 25-year-old woman suffered a frac- tured spine during an arrest in Jan- uary. On Jan. 18, the woman was arrested by an off-duty city police officer following a theft at a store on Charlotte Street. The officer ar- rived and the woman attempted to escape, according to the SIU. The officer chased her and took her to the ground. The woman was arrested, taken to the police station and, initially, declined medical atten- tion, according to the SIU. Several hours later, at her request, para- medics were called and took her to hospital. She was diagnosed with spine fractures. Martino accepted the woman’s serious injuries likely resulted from the takedown by the officer, however, he found no basis for proceeding with criminal charg- es in this case. The SIU, which in- vestigates police officers in inci- dents involving death, serious in- jury and sexual assault, has closed the file.