Police watchdog clears Ottawa officer of wrongdoing after woman's nose broken in arrest

Published Nov 18, 2023 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 1 minute read

Special Investigations Unit logo file. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, has cleared an Ottawa officer of wrongdoing following a domestic incident this summer in which a woman’s nose was broken.

According to a report released Saturday, the event occurred July 21, when Ottawa Police Service officers responded to an address on Mohrs Road in the Kinburn area in the city’s west end following a report of a domestic disturbance.

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A man had called police to report that a woman, 38, had assaulted him and broken his nose.

Police interviewed the complainant and observed the injury to his nose. The officer determined there were grounds to arrest the woman for assault and obtained the man’s permission to enter the house.

“Advised by the police that (the woman) was under arrest, (the woman went) into a bedroom and attempted to slam the door shut on the officers,” the report read.

An officer reached the door and kicked it open before it could close.

The door swung back into the room and hit the woman in the face,”breaking her nose in the process.”

She was handcuffed and assessed by paramedics, then taken to hospital and diagnosed with a broken nose.

The report said SIU director Joseph Martino found the force used by the officer was justified.

“The officer was entitled to prevent the door from closing in order to effect the complainant’s arrest, and to do so emphatically,” Martino said.

“Once inside the bedroom, there is no evidence of any further force having been brought to bear against (the woman).”

The woman declined to be interviewed by SIU investigators.