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:

• The name of, and any information identifying, a subject official, witness official, civilian witness or affected person.
• Information that may result in the identity of a person who reported that they were sexually assaulted being revealed in connection with the sexual assault.
• Information that, in the opinion of the SIU Director, could lead to a risk of serious harm to a person.
• Information that discloses investigative techniques or procedures.
• Information, the release of which is prohibited or restricted by law.
• Information in which a person’s privacy interest in not having the information published clearly outweighs the public interest in having the information published.

Freedom of Information and Protection of Personal Privacy Act

Pursuant to section 14 (i.e., law enforcement), certain information may not be included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Confidential investigative techniques and procedures used by law enforcement agencies; and
• Information that could reasonably be expected to interfere with a law enforcement matter or an investigation undertaken with a view to a law enforcement proceeding.

Pursuant to section 21 (i.e., personal privacy), protected personal information is not included in this report. This information may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• The names of persons, including civilian witnesses, and subject and witness officials;
• Location information;
• Witness statements and evidence gathered in the course of the investigation provided to the SIU in confidence; and
• Other identifiers which are likely to reveal personal information about individuals involved in the investigation.

Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004

Pursuant to this legislation, any information related to the personal health of identifiable individuals is not included.

Other proceedings, processes, and investigations

Information may also have been excluded from this report because its release could undermine the integrity of other proceedings involving the same incident, such as criminal proceedings, coroner’s inquests, other public proceedings and/or other law enforcement investigations.

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 death of a 38-year-old male (the “Complainant”).

Notification of the SIU[1]

On December 22, 2025, at 11:06 p.m., the Toronto Police Service (TPS) contacted the SIU with the following information.

On December 22, 2025, at 7:21 p.m., police officers were called to a condominium building in the area of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Park Lawn Road in relation to a person – the Complainant – reportedly threatening suicide. CW #1 had attended his neighbour’s condominium unit to seek refuge from the Complainant. There had been an altercation between the Complainant and CW #1, in which CW #1’s shoulder had been dislocated. The Complainant had been admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act (MHA) earlier that morning. After his release from hospital, the Complainant had threatened to jump off the balcony of his apartment. Witness Official (WO) #1 and the Subject Official (SO) attended at the Complainant’s condominium unit and, at 7:32 p.m., knocked on the door announcing that police were present and asking if everything was okay. The door was locked, and there was no answer when they knocked. WO #2, also in attendance, attempted to get a key from security. As WO #2 arrived with a key in front of the unit, a person from a unit on a lower floor [now known to be CW #4] called the TPS to report that someone had jumped from the building. The SO and WO #1 gained entry to the Complainant’s unit and observed the balcony door open. The Complainant was seen laying on the roof of a lower floor.

The Team

Date and time team dispatched: 2025/12/23 at 12:46 a.m.

Date and time SIU arrived on scene: 2025/12/23 at 2:50 a.m.

Number of SIU Investigators assigned: 3

Number of SIU Forensic Investigators assigned: 1

Affected Person (aka “Complainant”)

38-year-old male; deceased

Civilian Witnesses

CW #1 Interviewed

CW #2 Interviewed

CW #3 Interviewed

CW #4 Interviewed

The civilian witnesses were interviewed on December 23, 2025.

Subject Official

SO Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

The subject official was interviewed on January 7, 2026.

Witness Officials

WO #1 Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

WO #2 Interviewed; notes received and reviewed

The witness officials were interviewed on December 23, 2025.

The Scene

The events in question transpired in and around a condominium unit of a high-rise building in the area of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Park Lawn Road, Toronto.

Physical Evidence

On December 23, 2025, at 2:50 a.m., SIU Forensic Services arrived on scene. The location - a condominium unit - was protected by TPS uniformed police officers. A sergeant advised that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) had pronounced the Complainant deceased. The deceased was located on the rooftop of a lower floor of the building.

An open patio door led to a balcony with a glass and metal railing. On the floor of the balcony was a pair of slippers and clothing. It was snowing heavily, and the balcony was partially covered with wet snow. There were no obvious marks on the railing to indicate someone climbing or falling over.

Looking straight down from the balcony was a tarp, which covered an area of a rooftop terrace.

Access to the lower floor rooftop was from a ladder located in the stairwell of the lower floor. The ladder led to a roof hatch and then onto the rooftop. There was a tarp, partially covered with fresh snow, on the southeast side of this small roof area. The tarp covered the deceased. The rooftop area and the deceased were photographed.

At 3:55 a.m., the scene was turned over to TPS personnel, who advised that the Toronto Fire Services (TFS) would attend to recover the deceased from the rooftop and arrange body removal.

Video/Audio/Photographic Evidence[2]

Body-worn Camera (BWC) Footage – The SO and WO #1

Starting at about 7:34 p.m., December 22, 2025, the SO and WO #1 were in an elevator of a condominium building in the area of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Park Lawn Road, Toronto.

At 7:35 p.m., the SO knocked several times on the door of the Complainant’s unit, with no response. He checked with the dispatcher and learned the person who had called police was at a neighbouring unit. WO #1 approached and knocked on the neighbouring unit door.

At 7:36 p.m., the SO knocked on the door and said, “Hey, it is Toronto police, is everything okay in there.”

A woman answered the door to the neighbouring unit. The SO asked from a distance if they had a key for the Complainant’s unit, as a man [now known to be CW #1] stood in the background. CW #1 said he did not have a key. The SO continued to knock on the door of the Complainant’s unit.

WO #1 asked CW #1 if he had a key and CW #1 said he did not have a key. WO #1 asked if CW #1 was okay and CW #1 held his right shoulder. WO #1 advised they had called an ambulance. CW #1 told WO #1 that the Complainant went by a certain name. The SO could be heard to knock and say, “[Complainant’s name], hey it’s the Toronto Police, we just want to make sure you are okay.” The SO spoke on his radio microphone and asked WO #2 how far out he was, after which he continued to knock on the door and call out, “[Complainant’s name].” CW #1 knocked on the door to the unit and spoke in a foreign language.

At 7:38:47 p.m., the SO received a call on his radio from the dispatcher, indicating that a caller to police had just reported that someone had jumped off a balcony. CW #1 overheard the radio broadcast and became upset and banged on the door of the unit.

At 7:39:10 p.m., a security guard showed up and put a key in the door. WO #1 turned the key and put his shoulder to the door, which he opened at 7:39:18 p.m. The officer was the first to enter the door to the unit. He travelled straight through the open patio door, followed by the SO and WO #2, and leaned over the railing with a flashlight shining down. A voice was captured saying, “Yes, he is down there.” The SO and WO #1 proceeded to the ground floor and WO #2 stayed with CW #1.

At 7:43 p.m., WO #1 climbed a fixed ladder in a stairwell on the lower floor, which led to a locked trap door.

At 7:45:37 p.m., with a key he obtained from security, WO #1 opened the trap door and both he and the SO entered onto the lower floor rooftop. The SO approached and touched the body. WO #1 broadcast the man was vital signs absent, and the SO broadcast, “He is beyond help.” The SO asked WO #1 to get a banket to cover the body.

At 7:49:31 p.m., the SO placed a covering over the body.

At 7:53 p.m., a TFS firefighter approached the body, and lifted the covering near the head. A paramedic arrived on the roof through the roof hatch and viewed the body.

At 8:08 p.m., the paramedic returned to the hatch, looked down and said, “Code 5.”[3]

Communications Recordings & Computer-assisted Dispatch (CAD) Report

On December 22, 2025, at 7:21 p.m., a woman resident of a high-rise condominium complex in the area of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Park Lawn Road, Toronto, called the TPS via 911. She said that she was calling on behalf of a neighbour [now known to be CW #1]. CW #1 had been in an altercation with the Complainant, and he had a dislocated shoulder. The Complainant was in another unit [now known to be the Complainant’s unit], and the Complainant claimed he was going to kill himself. The Complainant was having a mental health episode and CW #1 was concerned the Complainant would jump off the balcony. There had been a similar incident the prior night. The Complainant had pushed CW #1 against a wall, which caused the injury to his shoulder.

At 7:25 p.m., WO #2 advised he had apprehended the Complainant the day before under the MHA.

At 7:28 p.m., the SO and WO #1 asked if a Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT) was available.

At 7:29 p.m., CW #4 advised the call-taker that the Complainant kept coming to her door to make sure that CW #1 was okay.

At 7:32 p.m., the SO and WO #1 arrived on scene. The door to the Complainant’s apartment was locked, and CW #1 did not have a key.

At 7:37 p.m., WO #2 was about to get onto the elevator with security, who had a key for the Complainant’s apartment.

At 7:38:16 p.m., the dispatcher advised of another caller indicating that someone had just jumped off the building and was on the 2^nd floor roof [now known to be a different lower floor roof].

At 7:39:38 p.m., the SO and WO #1 were in the Complainant’s apartment. They asked for a rush on EMS.

At 7:40 p.m., WO #2 broadcast that the Complainant had jumped and they required more police units.

At 7:44 p.m., the SO advised that the Complainant was possibly located on a specific lower floor roof, and they required a ladder. EMS and TFS arrived, and they gained access to the lower floor roof. A covering had been placed over the deceased.

Materials Obtained from Police Service

Upon request, the SIU received the following materials from the TPS between December 23, 2025, and January 16, 2026:

• Communications recordings
• BWC footage
• CAD Report
• TPS History - the Complainant
• General Occurrence Reports
• Involved Officers List
• Notes - the SO, WO #1 and WO #2
• TPS policies - Persons in Crisis; Incident Response (Use of Force)
• Training records – the SO

Materials Obtained from Other Sources

The SIU obtained the following records from the following other sources between December 23, 2025, and February 3, 2026:

• Ambulance Call Report and Incident Details from Toronto EMS
• Preliminary Autopsy Findings Report from the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service

The evidence collected by the SIU, including interviews with the SO and other witnesses (police and non-police), and video footage that captured the incident in part, gives rise to the following scenario.

The Complainant was of unsound mind in the evening of December 22, 2025. He made nonsensical comments to CW #1 and assaulted him, injuring his shoulder. CW #1 fled their condominium unit and sought refuge at a neighbour’s adjoining unit. The neighbour called police and reported what had occurred, conveying to the call-taker CW #1’s concerns that the Complainant was suicidal and might jump off the balcony.

The SO and his partner, WO #1, responded to the call and arrived in front of the Complainant’s unit at about 7:35 p.m. The SO repeatedly knocked on the door and asked to speak to the Complainant, indicating they wanted to make sure he was okay. There was no answer from inside the residence. CW #1 emerged from the neighbouring unit and also sought to communicate with the Complainant through the door, to no avail.

At about 7:38 p.m., the officers learned via a radio transmission from dispatch that police had received a call that someone had jumped off a balcony at the building.

At about 7:39 p.m., another officer, WO #2, and building security personnel arrived with a key to the unit. The unit was unlocked but still latched closed from the inside. WO #1 forced the door open and the officers entered the unit. Straight ahead at the far side of the unit was an open door to the balcony. The officers entered onto the balcony and observed the Complainant’s body below. He was laying on a lower floor rooftop terrace.

The SO and WO #1 made their way to the terrace to render assistance to the Complainant, but there was nothing that could be done. He was obviously deceased. The officers placed a sheet over the body.

Cause of Death

The pathologist at autopsy was of the preliminary view that the Complainant’s death was attributable to multiple blunt impact trauma, consistent with a fall from a significant height.

Sections 219 and 220, Criminal Code - Criminal Negligence Causing Death

219 (1) Every one is criminally negligent who

(a) in doing anything, or

(b) in omitting to do anything that it is his duty to do,

shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.

(2) For the purposes of this section, duty means a duty imposed by law.

220 Every person who by criminal negligence causes death to another person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable

(a) where a firearm is used in the commission of the offence, to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of four years; and

(b) in any other case, to imprisonment for life.

The Complainant passed away on December 22, 2025, the result of a fall from height. As TPS officers were attempting to speak with the Complainant at the time, the SIU was notified of the incident and initiated an investigation. 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 death.

The offence that arises for consideration is criminal negligence causing death contrary to section 220 of the Criminal Code. The offence is reserved for serious cases of neglect that demonstrate a wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons. It is predicated, in part, on conduct that amounts to a marked and substantial departure from the level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in the circumstances. In the instant case, the question is whether there was a want of care on the part of the SO, sufficiently egregious to attract criminal sanction, that caused or contributed to the Complainant’s death. In my view, there was not.

The evidence establishes that the SO comported himself with due care and regard for the Complainant’s well-being. En route to the scene, the officer was alive to the fact that the incident involved the Complainant’s mental health and requested the assistance of MCIT officers. His manner at the door to the Complainant’s residence was reasonable throughout. He knocked on the door seeking the Complainant’s attention, reassuring him that police were there to ensure he was okay. At the same time, arrangements were being made to have a master key brought up so they could enter the unit. Entry was made promptly once the key arrived, about four minutes after the first knocks on the door. When it became clear that he had fallen from the balcony, the SO and WO #1 acted with dispatch to get to the Complainant. Regrettably, the Complainant was already dead and there was nothing they could do by way of emergency care.

For the foregoing reasons, there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed.

Date: April 21, 2026

Electronically approved by

Joseph Martino

Director

Special Investigations Unit