News Release
Officer Acted Lawfully in Scarborough Arrest of Woman; No Basis to Proceed with Criminal Charges
Case Number: 19-TCI-242
On October 4, 2019, a Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer arrested a 37-year-old woman in Scarborough on an outstanding warrant for theft. Following the arrest, the woman was transported to hospital where she was diagnosed with a fracture to her left ankle. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the TPS officer acted other than lawfully throughout his dealings with the woman, and therefore there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges and the file is closed.
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