News Release

No Criminal Charges Warranted in Relation to the 1982 Death of a Man who was Lodged in a Toronto Police Station Cell

Case Number: 17-TCD-047   

Mississauga, ON (8 March, 2018) ---
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against any Toronto Police Service officer in relation to the death of a 40-year-old man in September of 1982 while in police custody. The SIU was notified of the incident in February of 2017.

Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=3217

The Director’s Report was delivered to the Attorney General, as is required by law under the Police Services Act. The Attorney General has directed that the document be posted online. 

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

Lisez ce communiqué en français.

SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES