News Release

The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has found no reasonable grounds to believe that a Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the arrest and serious injuries suffered by a 21-year-old man in June.

In the early morning hours of June 30, 2022, the TPS received a 911 call about an attempted theft of a vehicle from an address in Toronto, and were informed that the suspects had left the area in a white SUV. An officer spotted a white Mazda SUV with four males in it and decided to pull the vehicle over when it failed to stop for a stop sign.  Other officers arrived to assist with the investigation at the scene of the stop – the westbound curb lane of Steeles Avenue West just east of Highway 27.  The four males were directed to exit the Mazda and sit on the ground just north of the roadway. They did so. Within minutes of their detention, three of the four stood up and fled the scene on foot. With the help of a police dog, an officer was able to locate two of the individuals. Other officers arrived. Officers attempted to handcuff one of the men. When he didn’t bring his hands around his back as directed by the officer, he was punched several times by an officer. He was eventually handcuffed. The man was subsequently seen in hospital where he was diagnosed with fractures of the left orbital.

Director Martino was satisfied that the man was under lawful police detention at the time of the events in question and was satisfied that the force brought to bear by the officer constituted legally justified force. There was no basis for proceeding 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://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.