Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared an officer of any wrongdoing in the arrest of a 15-year-old boy who was seriously injured after trying to evade arrest.

The incident occurred on June 13, when Peel Regional Police (PRP) were called to find a teenager who allegedly took his parents’ van without their permission, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The civic agency said the “events in question” began at a gas station in Mississauga, at the northwest corner of Winston Churchill Boulevard and Thomas Street, and continued south across Thomas to a plaza on the southwest corner before ending at a sidewalk in Winston Churchill. .

The SIU said one of the officers called to the scene saw the van and stopped his patrol car in front of it while it was on Bentley Street. Two other patrol vehicles surround the rear and driver’s side, the agency reported.

The teen, who was driving the pickup truck, went around the patrol car and continued east toward Winston Churchill Boulevard, where the SIU said he turned right. They added that two male passengers were traveling in the back seat.

Police then followed the van until it stopped at a gas station just two blocks away, where it nearly collided with a gas pump.

The three occupants then exited the van and fled, the SIU said, prompting officers to park their patrol cars and give chase.

The 15-year-old, also known as the complainant in the SIU report, ran across Thomas Street and onto the plaza grounds.

The SIU said he continued running around a bank building before reaching a sidewalk in Winston Churchill, where a PRP officer fired a Taser that hit him in the back.

The report says the teen continued running, prompting the officer to use the Taser again.

“This time, his body got stuck and he fell to the ground, hitting his face. The impact resulted in broken teeth and a broken jaw,” SIU Director Joseph Martino wrote in the report, adding that after his arrest, the teen was taken to the hospital for treatment for his injuries.

Although the teenager was seriously injured during his arrest, Martino concluded that there are no “reasonable grounds” to believe that the PRP officer committed a criminal offense in connection with what occurred.

Under the Penal Code, Martino noted that officers are “immune from criminal liability” for the use of force to perform their duties, as long as that force is “reasonably necessary.”

“The (officer) had information to believe that the complainant had taken his parents’ truck without permission. Under the circumstances, the officer was within his rights to take action to arrest the plaintiff for possession of stolen property,” Martino said.

As for the force used by the officer to arrest the teen, Martino said the evidence stopped short of “reasonably suggesting it was illegal.”

Because the 15-year-old drove dangerously around a police blockade, nearly crashed into a gas pump and fled from officers, the report concludes that “some force was going to be necessary” to arrest him.

“Taking the complainant to the ground made sense as it would immediately end his flight and better position the officer to manage any continued resistance,” he said.

While there is always a risk of injury when knocking someone to the ground, Martino said he was “satisfied” with the officer’s decision since the chase occurred near active lanes of traffic.

For all these reasons, the SIU director determined that there is no basis for the officer to be criminally charged and closed the file.

The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving police in which a death, serious injury, firearm discharge, or allegations of sexual assault occurred.