Director's Report Details

The Special Investigations Unit is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an official where there has been death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an allegation of sexual assault. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019 (SIU Act), officials are defined as police officers, special constables of the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers under the Legislative Assembly Act. The SIU’s jurisdiction covers more than 50 municipal, regional and provincial police services across Ontario.

Under the SIU Act, the Director of the SIU must determine based on the evidence gathered in an investigation whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offence was committed. If such grounds exist, the Director has the authority to lay a criminal charge against the official. Alternatively, in cases where no reasonable grounds exist, the Director cannot lay charges. Where no charges are laid, a report of the investigation is prepared and released publicly, except in the case of reports dealing with allegations of sexual assault, in which case the SIU Director may consult with the affected person and exercise a discretion to not publicly release the report having regard to the affected person’s privacy interests.

Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019

Pursuant to section 34, certain information may not be included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following: 

Pursuant to section 15 of the SIU Act, the SIU may investigate the conduct of officials, be they police officers, special constables of the Niagara Parks Commission or peace officers under the Legislative Assembly Act, that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

A person sustains a “serious injury” for purposes of the SIU’s jurisdiction if they: sustain an injury as a result of which they are admitted to hospital; suffer a fracture to the skull, or to a limb, rib or vertebra; suffer burns to a significant proportion of their body; lose any portion of their body; or, as a result of an injury, experience a loss of vision or hearing.

In addition, a “serious injury” means any other injury sustained by a person that is likely to interfere with the person’s health or comfort and is not transient or trifling in nature.

This report relates to the SIU’s investigation into the serious injury of a 52-year-old man (the “Complainant”).

Notification of the SIU [1]

On January 21, 2023, at 5:18 p.m., the Toronto Police Service (TPS) contacted the SIU with the following information.

On January 21, 2023, at 10:45 a.m., a Civilian Witness (CW) called the police to report a violent attack by the Complainant. When police officers arrived, the Complainant was grounded and taken into custody. He was subsequently transported to the Toronto Western Hospital (TWH), where he was diagnosed with a fractured rib.

The Team

Date and time team dispatched: 01/21/2023 at 5:54 p.m.

Date and time SIU arrived on scene: 01/21/2023 at 6:08 p.m.

Number of SIU Investigators assigned: 3

The Scene

The scene was located in the hallway in front of an apartment unit at an address in the area of Royal York Road and Lakeshore Boulevard West, Toronto.

Video/Audio/Photographic Evidence [2]

The SO’s Body-worn Camera (BWC) Video

Starting at about 10:52 a.m., the SO was captured arriving in the parking lot of the apartment building; he removed a less-lethal shotgun from the rear of his police vehicle.

WO #2 and WO #3 arrived.

Starting at about 10:56 a.m., all three police officers entered the front door of the apartment building and walked down a hallway. At the end of the hallway, a woman - the CW - stood near an apartment unit. WO #3 asked the CW what happened, and she replied that she had been asleep on the couch. The Complainant demanded sex from her and put his hands on her throat. He hit her head against the wall, and put a knife to her neck. The SO told the CW to collect her belongings from the floor to wait for them in the lobby.

Starting at about 10:57 a.m., WO #3 knocked on the door of the apartment. The SO shouted, “It’s Toronto Police, come to the door with your hands above your head, do not come out with the weapon, just come to the door, open it slowly, show us your hands.” The apartment door opened slightly, and the Complainant poked his head out and said he had no weapons. WO #3 told the Complainant to come out with his hands up. The Complainant replied in the negative. He told the police officers they could come inside, and he closed the apartment door.

The SO and WO #3 repeatedly told the Complainant to exit the apartment with his hands up. The SO and WO #2 were on the left side of the door and WO #3 was on the right side of the door, as one faced the door.

Starting at about 10:59 a.m., the Complainant opened the apartment door, naked, and bent over to the right to pick up clothing that was on the floor just outside of the doorway. WO #3 stepped forward and took hold of the Complainant’s left arm, moving him into the middle of the hallway. The SO placed the shotgun on the floor and approached the Complainant from the front, grabbing both of his shoulders. WO #3, the SO, and the Complainant stood in the middle of the hallway. The officers were subsequently depicted on the floor with the Complainant, who was captured lying on the hallway floor, face down on his right side, with his hands tucked underneath him.

WO #3 was on the Complainant’s left, and WO #2 and the SO were on his right. The police officers pulled the Complainant’s arms out from beneath him and placed them behind his back. The SO handcuffed the Complainant with his hands behind his back, and the other officers released their holds.

The Complainant claimed his ribs were broken.

WO #4 attended the hallway and put track pants on the Complainant.

Toronto Fire Service attended and assessed the Complainant, who complained of pain in his ribs and wrist, and trouble breathing.

The SO and WO #4 assisted the Complainant to stand up, and walked him down the hallway and out the front door to a police vehicle. The SO opened the rear police vehicle door and explained to the Complainant the information they had received, namely, that he had held a knife against the throat of the CW and hit her head against a wall. The SO placed a sweatshirt over the Complainant’s head and told him he was under arrest for Assault with a Weapon and Assault.

The evidence collected by the SIU, including interviews with the Complainant and the SO, and video footage that captured the incident in parts, gives rise to the following scenario.

In the morning of January 21, 2023, TPS officers were dispatched to an apartment in the area of Royal York Road and Lakeshore Boulevard West following a 911 call. The call was made by an occupant of the unit – the CW. The CW reported that she had just been assaulted by the tenant of the apartment – the Complainant. He had held a knife to her throat and banged her head against a wall.

The SO arrived at the address at about 10:50 a.m. and retrieved a less-lethal shotgun from the trunk of his vehicle. He was joined by two plainclothes officers, WO #2 and WO #3. The officers encountered the CW in the hallway outside the Complainant’s apartment, and directed her to wait in the building lobby. They then knocked on the door of the unit and announced that the Complainant was to exit the apartment with his hands up. The Complainant opened the door, indicated that he had no weapons, refused to exit when asked, and closed the door.

Shortly thereafter, as the officers continued to demand that he exit the apartment, the Complainant opened the door again. He took a step outside his apartment, bent down and reached to pick up a blue bag from the floor, and was grabbed by the left side by WO #3, who pulled him into the middle of the hallway. The Complainant struggled against the officer’s efforts, and was met with a knee strike to the abdomen by the SO. The officers took the Complainant to the floor, after which they were able to wrestle control of his hands and handcuff them behind the back.

Following his arrest, the Complainant was transported to hospital and diagnosed with a left-sided rib fracture.

Section 25(1), Criminal Code -- Protection of Persons Acting Under Authority

(a) as a private person,

(b) as a peace officer or public officer,

(c) in aid of a peace officer or public officer, or

(d) by virtue of his office,

The Complainant was seriously injured in the course of his arrest by TPS officers on January 21, 2023. In the ensuing SIU investigation, one of the officers – the SO – was identified as the subject official. The investigation is now concluded. On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the SO committed a criminal offence in connection with the Complainant’s arrest and injury.

Pursuant to section 25(1) of the Criminal Code, police officers are immune from criminal liability for force used in the course of their duties provided such force was reasonably necessary in the execution of an act that they were required or authorized to do by law.

The SO was lawfully placed and engaged in the exercise of his duty when he attended at the Complainant’s apartment to take him into custody. Given the information he had of the 911 call the CW had made, which information had been confirmed by the CW on his arrival on scene, the Complainant was subject to lawful arrest.

With respect to the force used by the SO in aid of the Complainant’s arrest, namely, a knee strike followed by a takedown, I am satisfied that it was legally justified. Reportedly, the Complainant had just violently assaulted a woman and was in possession of a knife. Accordingly, it was imperative that he be taken into custody as quickly as possible at the first opportunity. The knee strike and subsequent takedown, in my view, would seem measured and proportionate tactics in the circumstances as they were intended to quickly overcome the Complainant’s resistance as he exited his apartment. Indeed, that was precisely their effect.

In the result, while I accept that the Complainant suffered a fractured rib during the altercation that marked his arrest, there are no reasonable grounds to conclude that the injury was attributable to unlawful conduct on the part of the SO. As such, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed.


Date: May 18, 2023


Electronically approved by

Joseph Martino
Director
Special Investigations Unit