News Release
No Basis to Lay Charges against York Regional Police Officers in Relation to Man’s Arrest in Toronto
Case Number: 19-OCI-009
On January 5, 2019, a 31-year-old man and his associate were occupants in a BMW vehicle being followed by undercover York Regional Police (YRP) officers. The men were observed entering a home in Vaughan and then exiting with property in their possession. Based on the police investigation, the decision was made to arrest both individuals for break and enter. Officers continued to track the BMW as it went into Toronto. When the BMW stopped in a driveway, officers surrounded the vehicle and pulled the man from the driver’s seat onto the ground, where he was handcuffed. The Interim Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against any YRP officer in relation to the broken nose sustained by the man during his arrest.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.
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