Sault Ste. Marie family's civil case against OPP dismissed by judge

A civil case launched by Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., family members who alleged they were wrongfully arrested and assaulted by Ontario Provincial Police 10 years ago has been dismissed.

Daniel Knox, his son Harrison Knox and daughter Sherry Cole named the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and OPP officers Const. Luigi Bruni, Const. Mario Posteraro, Const. Peter Van Den Diepstraten, Const. Keith Nicolle and Sgt. Ken Spahr in the lawsuit.

Daniel Knox operates the company Tree Men & A Chainsaw, where his son and daughter were working at the time of the alleged incident.

On June 11, 2014, OPP were called after a traffic complaint involving a vehicle owned by Daniel's company.

Two company vehicles were being taken to a company job when around 12:30 p.m. ET on Highway 17 in Aweres Township, north of Sault Ste. Marie, police were contacted after one vehicle was seen passing "in a manner that was unsafe, veering into oncoming traffic."

Court documents state a vehicle had to move off the road to avoid a collision. Two separate vehicles pulled into a nearby gas station parking lot and blocked the company vehicle until police arrived.

'Get here quick'

Documents say Harrison phoned his father and said "he'd better get here quick before I hammer someone."

Both Daniel and Cole phoned OPP. The dispatcher told Cole that "Daniel Knox should pull his vehicle over and not attend at the scene."

The documents say both Daniel and Cole "ignored this direction" from police and went to the scene. Knox testified his intention was "to take care of business" and this his "crew and family needed help."

Nicolle was the first to arrive at the scene, followed by Posteraro. Both officers spoke with people on site to take statements.

Harrison testified he was told he was under arrest for dangerous driving, to which he responded he wasn't the driver. He said he was then told he was under arrest for assault. He said officers placed handcuffs on him that were "really tight and high on his wrist," and he was "anxious and distraught."

The documents state Harrison was placed in the rear of a police cruiser and minutes later, Daniel and Cole arrived. The two got out of the vehicle and "then all hell broke loose."

'Pretty angry and upset'

Daniel approached the police car with Harrison inside and opened the door. Nicolle told him to get away from the cruiser. Daniel testified he approached Nicolle, and was told to get to the ground and he was under arrest. He said that at that point, he saw Posteraro had his Taser out and Posteraro used it twice.

Cole testified that after her father was Tasered, she pushed Posteraro as "it was just instinct to help him." She also said that when her father was taken to a police cruiser, an officer was kicking him in the back of the legs. She admitted to being "pretty angry and upset."

She said she was told she was being arrested, and she was thrown onto the hood of a vehicle with Van Den Diepstraten's "knee and forearms on her back and twisting her shirt, causing her to choke." She was taken to the OPP detachment and was released on a promise to appear on a charge of obstructing a police officer.

Van Den Diepstraten testified that "at no point did he strike Sherry Cole or kick her."

'Author of his own misfortune'

In his written decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau said "neither the evidence of Daniel Knox nor the evidence of Const. Keith Nicolle is perfect. There are problems with the evidence of both of them."

"I found the evidence of Daniel Knox to be exaggerated, embellished and self-serving," he wrote.

"His evidence that he was kicked by officer Bruni '15 to 20 times' in the back of the his leg is hard to believe. Even his daughter, Sherry Cole, describes two to three kicks to the back of her father's leg, not the 15 to 20 times as described by Daniel Knox. Mr. Knox is left with no bruises or injuries to the back of his leg or medical treatment sought despite his assertion that he was kicked 15 to 20 times in the back of the leg."

Gareau added "it is not unfair to say that a large extent, Daniel Knox is the author of his own misfortune."

"He was told to stay away from the scene by the OPP dispatcher, but he ignored this suggestion," he said.

"Immediately upon arriving at the scene, he opens the police cruiser door. He ignores the commands of police to get on the ground. He pushes officer Nicolle. He heads towards his vehicle. He continued to ignore the commands of the police officers and was engaged in active resistance and assaultive behaviour. This necessitated the use of the taser to control the behaviour of Daniel Knox and to place him under arrest."

Gareau dismissed all of the plaintiffs' claims in their entirety.