News Release
No Charges in Post-Police Pursuit Crash that Resulted in Serious Injuries in Toronto
Case Number: 20-TVI-253
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that Toronto Police Service officers committed a criminal offence in connection with the serious injuries suffered by a man and woman in a collision following a police interaction in 2020.
On October 5, 2020, two Toronto Police Service officers attempted to arrest a man in a vehicle at Winona Drive and Lanark Avenue in Toronto. Following a brief pursuit, the driver of the vehicle was involved in a collision with another vehicle at Oakwood Avenue and Bude Street.
The man in the fleeing vehicle and a female passenger in the third-party vehicle that was struck were taken to hospital and diagnosed with serious injuries.
Director Martino was unable to reasonably conclude that the officers failed to comport themselves with due care and regard for public safety. Therefore, there was no basis to proceed with criminal charges in this case and the file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=1550
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.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES