A $6 million lawsuit against Guelph police for numerous alleged violations of a man’s rights should be thrown out of court, just as some of the police evidence at trial was, police insist in their statement of defence.
Filed earlier this year, the lawsuit relates to the 2022 arrest of a Guelph man who claims the actions of police left him with a brain injury. He was found not guilty of the charges laid against him following a trial that ended last December.
“The violation of the plaintiff's … Charter rights was addressed in the criminal proceedings and the plaintiff obtained his remedy by means of the exclusion of evidence,” reads the statement from Guelph Police Service. “No further civil remedy is appropriate in the circumstances of this case.”
None of the allegations have been tested or proven in civil court.
According to the man’s statement of claim, and referenced in the defendants’ filing, a trial judge found police violated several aspects of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in their dealings with the man, including protection from illegal search and seizure, arbitrary detention and the right to speak with counsel.
He had been charged with impaired driving, over 80 and dangerous driving, the statement of claim notes.
Despite the criminal court’s findings, police allege the man was impaired when he was stopped by an officer as he attempted to pull into a downtown parking garage.
That officer is also individually named in the lawsuit.
“To the extent that there was any physical contact between the plaintiff and (the arresting officer) or any other member of the Guelph Police Service, the plaintiff was never injured. The plaintiff did not suffer a head injury,” the defence claims.
“If the plaintiff did suffer any emotional distress, psychological injuries, or other damages as alleged, the plaintiff caused or contributed to those damages by reason his own negligence by driving while under the influence of alcohol, insisting on using abusive and belligerent language, and self-destructive behaviour by his refusal to obey the lawful requests of (the arresting officer) and by backing his vehicle into the police vehicle being driven by (the arresting officer).”
In the statement of claim, the man acknowledges his vehicle “inadvertently tapped” the cruiser as he reversed to avoid what he believed to be a dangerous position to be stopped in. He further admitted to not responding immediately when the officer subsequently approached him and accused him of being drunk.
It’s alleged police then searched the man in a “heavy-handed, invasive and violent manner” that included pulling his shorts down around his ankles without pulling them up after. He further claims the arresting officer “proceeded to throw him into the back seat” of a police vehicle “causing his head to collide forcefully with the exterior of the vehicle.”
If the civil court finds the man indeed suffered injuries and damages as a result of police actions, the department claims it is protected from liability by the Police Services Act, Community Safety and Policing Act, the Criminal Code and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“The defendants state that the plaintiff has no basis for a claim of punitive, aggravated, or exemplary damages,” states the defence filing.
“The defendants state that if the plaintiff did suffer any damages as a result of his interaction with the defendants, they are within the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court or Rule 76 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.”
That rule caps small claims court findings of liability at $200,000.
