News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Toronto Arrest
Case Number: 22-TCI-303
In the late afternoon of November 27, 2022, Toronto Police Service officers were dispatched to a motel on Kingston Road in Toronto following a 911 call to police regarding an armed robbery. Officers set up a perimeter around the area, and with the help of a police dog, the man was located hiding in a refuse bin situated by the front of a nearby home. One of the officers fired his conducted energy weapon at the man and he was quickly grounded before being handcuffed and taken into custody. The man was taken to the police station and then to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken nose. While accepting that the man’s broken nose was incurred as he was being arrested by officers, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there was insufficient evidence to reasonably conclude with any confidence that the man was subjected to excessive force. As such, 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.
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