The chief of Waterloo Regional Police publicly apologized Monday to a man who was arrested and strip-searched after his daughter drew a picture of a gun at school and said her father used it to kill bad guys.

Chief Matt Torigian said it was a "mistake" for officers to "thoroughly search," or strip search, Jessie Sansone back in February. Police had arrested Sansone after being alerted by Kitchener school officials that his four-year-old daughter had drawn the picture depicting a firearm.

A search of Sansone's home turned up only a toy gun that shoots plastic beads. Sansone was released and never charged.

"We are in a position to apologize publicly to Mr. Sansone, for not only being thoroughly searched when he ought not to have been, but more importantly the difficulties this has caused both him and his family in the aftermath," Torigian told reporters at a Monday news conference.

Torigian said the strip search was the result of miscommunication between officers. Sansone should only have been frisked, he said, because police did not plan to charge him.

Torigian did say police were right to arrest Sansone, who does have an assault conviction and is prohibited from owning a firearm. It was that information, Torigian said, that led to his arrest.

"Everyone acted at that moment properly and in accordance with their legal obligations," he said.

Sansone said that while he accepts the chief's apology, he is still upset about what happened to him and the impact it has had on his kids. Sansone said he has been forced to move his children to another school.

Sansone also said his legal troubles are far behind him.

"I did get in trouble with the law and I could legally get a pardon for it, it's been five years," Sansone said. "And I paid for my mistakes."

At the time of his arrest, Sansone hired a lawyer, and he is still considering his legal options.

Also Monday, Waterloo police released an internal report into the incident, a document that contains eight recommendations to avoid similar incidents.

The recommendations include better record keeping when prisoners are transferred between officers; using a scanner, like the ones used during security screening at airports, for "thorough" searches; and having a supervisor sign off on any intrusive search before it happens.

With a report from CTV Southwestern Ontario's Joel Bowey