An officer with the Dakota Ojibway Police Service has been cleared after a prisoner broke a bone in his own hand while in custody.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) has determined a 50-year-old from Long Plain First Nation injured himself while in his holding cell on December 3, 2016. The intoxicated man was arrested after causing a disturbance and punching holes into walls at a residence in the community.
A female DOPS officer entered the man’s cell five times when he became agitated and wrapped several layers of clothing around his neck, but the IIU determined her contact with him didn’t inflict injury.
The IIU says the man continuously punched at the cell door and a window. He later complained of pain in his hand and elbow and was taken to hospital for treatment. Doctors found he had a broken bone in his right hand, consistent with striking his fist into a hard object.
IIU civilian director Zane Tessler wrote the man’s own conduct was solely responsible for his injuries, which were unrelated to anything done or force used by the officer.
