News Release
No Charges Against Toronto Police Officers in Death of Man
Case Number: 21-TCD-341
Other News Releases Related to Case 21-TCD-341
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that three Toronto Police Service officers committed a criminal offence in connection with the death of a 34-year-old man last October.
In the evening of October 9, 2021, officers responded to an apartment on Church Street for a man seeking help. After officers attempted to talk to the man through the locked door, and upon hearing the sounds of the man crying for help, officers forced open the door and rushed inside. Officers found the man on the floor, handcuffed him and placed him in a recovery position. Within moments, the man went into medical distress. Paramedics administered lifesaving measures and transported him to hospital where he died.
Director Martino concluded that the officers involved comported themselves with due care and regard for the man’s wellbeing. He noted that the cause of the man’s death remained undetermined at this time. However, he was satisfied that the man’s death was not attributable to any unlawful conduct on the part of the involved officers. The file has been closed.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):
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