News Release

The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that two Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers committed a criminal offence in connection with the arrest and injury of a 27-year-old man in April.

In the evening of April 17, 2022, TPS officers were dispatched to the area of Trinity Bellwoods Park after a woman called complaining of a disturbance being created by one of her neighbours. The neighbour was said to be hurting his puppy, screaming and throwing things around in his backyard. Upon arrival, officers further learned that the man was mentally unstable. The officers entered the rooming house in which the man was a resident. He was sleeping, and there appeared to be firearms present in his possession, including what looked like a Glock pistol in his right hand. As a result, the Emergency Task Force (ETF) was deployed to the scene. Officers entered the bedroom and confronted the man. Conducted energy weapon (CEW) discharges by two officers were ineffective in immobilizing the man, who reacted to the officers’ presence in his room by kicking and screaming. Two of the ETF officers delivered punches to the man during a short-lived struggle, after which he was handcuffed and taken from the scene to a waiting cruiser. At hospital, the man was diagnosed with a fractured right orbital bone.

While accepting that the man was injured by the force brought to bear by the ETF officers, Director Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that those officers comported themselves other than lawfully throughout their engagement.  Accordingly, there was no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file has been closed.

 

Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.