News Release
SIU Terminates East York Investigation
Case Number: 18-TCI-149
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Tony Loparco, has terminated an investigation into an interaction that occurred last month between Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers and a 31-year-old man.
At approximately 3:50 a.m. on May 20, 2018, TPS received a call of a suspicious man in the backyard of a residence on Glebemount Avenue. When officers arrived, they saw the man and attempted to arrest him. During the interaction, the man punched one of the officers in the face. The man was apprehended and taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a hand injury.
Director Loparco said, “The evidence establishes that the man’s injury was self-inflicted. Accordingly, I have terminated the investigation into this incident.”
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