SIU clears Hamilton officer after man shot in face with Taser

The provincial police watchdog has cleared a Hamilton police officer of any criminal wrongdoing after he shot a man in the face and the neck with a Taser in the east end last year.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was called in to investigate after an 18-year-old man was injured at a home on Glennie Avenue in May of 2015.

According to reports at the time, the man ended up with a broken jaw and was treated in hospital.

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The written SIU decision says that police were called in around 11 p.m. about a man who was "acting aggressively."

When police got there, the man's father told the officers that his son was drunk, "possibly intoxicated, possibly armed with a knife" and that a six-year-old was also upstairs in the home.

An officer went inside and demanded to see the man, the report says.

The officer attended the scene in response to a radio call respecting an aggressive individual, who had inexplicably attacked his parents, was in possession of a knife and was alone in a house with a six-year-old child.- SIU Director Tony Loparco

"He was met by the man, who was covered in blood and sweat and was immediately hostile towards the officer," the report reads. "The officer became involved in a struggle with the man as he attempted to take control of him."

A second officer arrived and discharged his conducted energy weapon (more commonly known by the brand name Taser) into the man's upper back — but it didn't have the "anticipated" effect.

A Taser fires two probes, through which an electric current runs that can incapacitate a suspect. If both of those probes don't connect properly (either due to a misfire or heavy clothing), the circuit won't complete and the person may not go down.

A third officer then arrived on scene, the SIU says, and saw the first two officers struggling to subdue the man.

He fired his Taser at the man — and one probe implanted into the right side of his face, while another hit him on the right side of his neck.

He was then taken to hospital where the probes were surgically removed, the report says.

"The officer attended the scene in response to a radio call respecting an aggressive individual, who had inexplicably attacked his parents, was in possession of a knife and was alone in a house with a six-year-old child," SIU director Tony Loparco said in a news release. "The complainant was belligerent, obstinate and non-responsive to verbal demands.

"He was also assaulting the two witness officers. In the circumstances, there is no doubt that the subject officer was entitled to assist in the complainant's arrest."

"In conclusion, the efforts to take the complainant into custody were lawful, the force employed against him was not excessive, and while he was injured, this did not attract criminal liability."