Ottawa police face $500K assault lawsuit

An Ottawa man is suing Ottawa police for $500,000 after an August incident when he says police punched him repeatedly and sent him crashing to the ground, fracturing his jaw.

Hugh Styres, 50, was arrested the morning of Aug. 13 after police found him lying on a sidewalk along Henderson Avenue in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood.

In his statement of claim filed with the Superior Court of Justice Tuesday, Styres said two officers "without provocation" used excessive force, "causing him to strike or fall to the ground with extreme force and, in particular, causing his head to strike the ground with extreme force."

The blow fractured bones around his eye, loosened teeth and fractured the upper left jawbone, he said in his statement of claim.

None of the claims have been proven in court. Ottawa police have also declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has already charged the two officers with assault related to Styres's case.

Passerby Tasha Doucette had called police to alert them about Styres's condition. But she told CBC the officers were rough with Styres as she watched behind a bush.

Ottawa police are already facing four lawsuits from people who have alleged rough treatment in an Ottawa cellblock.