News Release
No Reasonable Grounds to Believe Toronto Officers Committed Criminal Offence in Relation to Man’s Injuries
Case Number: 21-TCI-001
On December 31, 2020, a 49-year-old man was seriously injured while fleeing from police apprehension in Toronto. The two officers who were pursuing the man at the time of his injuries were identified as subject officials for purposes of the SIU investigation. The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either subject official committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s injuries.
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