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Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared a London police officer of criminal wrongdoing for using a Taser to “incapacitate” a woman in distress following a mental health call.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) found there were no reasonable grounds to lay charges against an unnamed London police officer who responded to a mental health call on Sept. 24, 2024, to assist paramedics with a 43-year-old woman in distress at an apartment near Colborne and King streets.
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The final report by the SIU said the officer’s negotiation efforts were “not going anywhere and there was a risk the woman might use a knife to harm herself.”
SIU said the officers found it “made sense” to incapacitate the woman temporarily with a conducted energy weapon.
In the report, SIU said the woman, with a history of mental health issues, had taken an overdose of medication prior to the arrival of police and was found by officers at 4:25 p.m. lying on the living room sofa, holding a knife.
“The officers spoke with (the woman) to have her let go of the knife. The complainant was drowsy and mostly non-responsive,” the SIU said.
She continued to hold the knife and press it against her chest and arm, the SIU said.
Officers decided at 4:50 p.m. to use the Taser “in tandem with a shield if and when the complainant held the knife away from her body.”
“An officer held a shield onto her torso, pinning her arms while an officer pried the knife from her grip,” the SIU said.
Though the woman suffered cuts on her left hand, SIU director Joseph Martino said he was unable to fault the officer in the circumstances.
The report said the taser was used for 15 seconds.
The woman was taken to Victoria Hospital and diagnosed with cut tendons to her fingers that required surgery. She was admitted under the Mental Health Act.
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The Special Investigations Unit is an independent agency that probes all cases of serious injury, death and allegations of sexual assault involving police officers provincewide.
$17K+ in drugs seized in Clinton, two charged: OPP
Two Huron County men face charges after more than $17,000 in drugs were seized during a search, Huron County OPP said.
Officers with a warrant seized suspected cocaine and methamphetamine, with an estimated street value exceeding $17,000, during a search of a property on Albert Street in Clinton on Monday, police said.
A 61-year-old Central Huron man is charged with trafficking in a firearm, weapon, device or ammunition and two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. A 27-year-old Central Huron man is charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.
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