The Special Investigations Unit is clearing the Niagara Regional Police after a man complained of a light fracture behind his right eye following an arrest.
According to the incident report, police arrested a heavily intoxicated man after he began to fight with a friend near a bar in St. Catharines.
Witnesses report wildly different versions of what happened on the night of October 7th, but the director of the SIU has determined the man was extremely intoxicated, engaged in fights, and was taken to the ground during the arrest.
The day after the arrest the man went to hospital where he was diagnosed with the fracture.
The report from the SIU states the arrest was legally justified, and that the officers used a reasonable amount of force in the execution of their duties.
Director Tony Loparco notes the man might have been injured while he was physically fighting with friends or while he was thrashing about in the cruiser during the arrest.