News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Injuries Sustained after Etobicoke Rooftop Fall
Case Number: 12-TCI-010
Other News Releases Related to Case 12-TCI-010
Mississauga (24 February, 2012) --- The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has concluded that there are no reasonable grounds to charge two officers with the Toronto Police Service (TPS) with any criminal offence in relation to the injuries sustained by a 20-year-old man in January of 2012.
The SIU assigned five investigators and two forensic investigators to probe the circumstances of this incident. Neither of the two subject officers consented to the release of his duty notes in relation to this incident or to interviews with the SIU, as is their legal right. Eleven witness officers were designated and eight civilian witnesses were interviewed.
The SIU investigation found that the following events took place on Sunday, January 8:
• In the afternoon, a man was seen on the roof of a six-storey building located at 10 Fontenay Court. The building superintendent spoke to the individual, who exhibited signs of depression and refused to leave the roof.
• TPS was called, and the Emergency Task Force responded to the scene. The two subject officers were part of the response team and the ones most involved in the ensuing negotiations with the man.
• The subject officers entered the rooftop area and engaged in negotiations with the individual. They were never within arm’s length of him and did not deploy any police equipment. Approximately one hour into the negotiations, the man took off his jacket and jumped over the edge. While he survived, he sustained multiple injuries including a fractured pelvis, vertebrae and lower left leg.
Director Scott said, “The combination of an audio recording from an audio recorder placed near the man and a video recording taken by an individual from a nearby building provide, in my view, enough information to accurately understand this incident. Based on this evidence and witness interviews, the two subject officers had no direct involvement in his decision to jump off a six-storey building. On the contrary, they were attempting to convince him to abandon his plan to hurt himself. While they were ultimately unsuccessful, there is no suggestion that they were involved in causing the man to fall approximately twenty metres to the ground and accordingly cannot be held criminally responsible for the serious injuries sustained by him.”
Disclaimer added on 16 March, 2020
Consistent with current SIU policy and practice, the name of the injured party and any identifying information have been redacted.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations