Halifax police officer won’t be charged after man’s arrest, injury: SiRT

The SiRT logo is seen in an undated file photo.

The Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) says a police officer won’t be charged following a man’s arrest and injury in Dartmouth, N.S., last year.

Two officers with Halifax Regional Police responded to a call of an alarm at a business on Windmill Road on Sept. 17, 2024.

SiRT says the officers noted air conditioning units had been removed from the front of the business and someone had likely entered it.

One of the officers then saw a man in a back office with a computer monitor in his hands.

SiRT says the man did not comply with the officer’s orders to show his hands and he put his hands in his hoodie and waistband of his pants.

The officer then kicked the man twice and a struggle ensued.

The second police officer entered the same office and deployed his Taser.

The man was then arrested.

“Due to the use of the taser and the male’s apparent level of intoxication, Emergency Health Services (EHS) were called, and the male was transported to the hospital. The male was diagnosed with a ruptured spleen and lacerated kidney,” reads a Friday report from SiRT.

The man had emergency surgery and was released from hospital about 10 days later.

SiRT received a referral from Halifax police the same day as the incident and began their investigation.

The team’s director, Erin Nauss, says she has since found no grounds to lay a charge against the officer.

SiRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

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