The province's police watchdog has cleared Ontario Provincial Police officers of any wrongdoing after a Huntsville man suffered fractures to his right foot during a chaotic series of escape attempts that included climbing down a television antenna tower and fleeing from an ambulance while handcuffed.
Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Director Joseph Martino concluded there were no reasonable grounds to believe any OPP officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the 31-year-old man's injuries.
The incident began on June 14, 2026, when OPP received a request for a wellness check on a woman reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis. Investigators later determined the call was not genuine.
Shortly afterward, police received a report that the complainant had taken his grandfather's Jeep without permission, was under the influence of drugs and was breaching house arrest conditions.
Officers attended a Huntsville residence where the man was believed to be staying. According to the SIU, police discovered the complainant hiding in an upstairs bedroom. After officers were unable to enter the room, the man smashed a window and attempted to escape by climbing down a television antenna mounted to the side of the house.
Body-worn camera footage reviewed by investigators captured the man saying, "I'm not going to jail" as he descended the antenna.
The SIU said the complainant jumped the final one to two metres to the ground before becoming involved in a struggle with officers attempting to arrest him. Police observed swelling in his ankle and paramedics transported him to Huntsville District Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Medical staff initially could not confirm a fracture, and the man was later returned to the OPP detachment wearing an air cast boot.
However, after further complaints of pain and concerns about his well-being, he was being transported back to hospital later that afternoon when he escaped from the ambulance.
The SIU found the complainant jumped from the rear of the ambulance while handcuffed and ran barefoot through the hospital parking lot before leaping down a steep embankment and disappearing into a wooded area.
A search involving multiple OPP officers and a canine unit was launched. Police eventually located the man after receiving a report about a handcuffed individual in a residential backyard. He was arrested without incident.
After his recapture, officers noted his ankle appeared more swollen and that he had suffered a new cut to his foot. He was returned to hospital, where medical imaging confirmed fractures in his right foot.
In his decision, Martino said investigators could not determine exactly when the injury occurred but identified several possible scenarios.
"Assuming that he did not suffer the injury to his foot prior to his involvement with police on June 14, 2026, there are three identifiable points in the events of that day where the Complainant could have suffered an injury to his foot," Martino wrote.
The report states the injury may have occurred when the complainant jumped from the television antenna, when he leapt down the embankment after fleeing the ambulance, or when he allegedly fell through the floor of a residence while hiding from police.
"In none of these incidents is there a causal connection that can be drawn from the actions of an officer to the potential mechanism of injury, and consequently no reason to believe that officers committed a criminal offence with relation to the Complainant," Martino concluded.
While clearing officers of criminal wrongdoing, the SIU noted a possible violation of police body-worn camera policy involving one officer. The matter has been referred to the OPP and the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency for review.
