The province's Special Investigations Unit says it has found no reasonable grounds to believe a Toronto Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with two separate incidents downtown this past summer in which two men were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
In the first case, a 58-year-old man was seriously injured in a fall from his downtown apartment on July 19.
The SIU said at the time officers were outside the man's door attempting to negotiate his arrest based on information that he had assaulted a woman.
A security guard had called 911 after a woman who was visiting the man ran to the building security office and reported that the man had pushed her against a wall, assaulting and choking her, the SIU said.
The SIU said the officers attempted to persuade the man to exit his apartment in the Shuter Street and Sherbourne Street area just after midnight.
Police were outside the man's door for about 30 minutes while they tried to get a warrant to enter when the man jumped out his window, according to an SIU report.
The man suffered fractures to his spine, legs, pelvis and ribs. Toronto EMS were called and the man was transported to St. Michael’s Hospital.
SIU director Joseph Martino concluded none of the officers "transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law."
In a separate case on July 1 at around 4 a.m., police were attempting to arrest a 30-year-old man after they saw him assault another man in police custody in the area of Queen Street West and Dovercourt Road.
The SIU said officers were on general patrol downtown when they came upon a physical altercation between two men near the Dog and Bear Pub, 1100 Queen St. W.
According to an SIU report, during the arrest of one of the men, a third man approached and “sucker-punched” the arrested man in the face before trying to flee.
An officer attempted to arrest the third man and he resisted.
"A second officer deployed his conducted energy weapon (Taser) causing the man to spin around, fall to the ground, and hit his head on the concrete," the SIU reported.
The man was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured skull and bleeding on his brain.
He was later transferred and admitted to St. Michael’s Hospital. The man also suffered a fractured left ring finger.
The SIU's Martino concluded use of the Taser was a "justifiable use of force to aid in the man’s arrest."
The SIU is an independent government agency that conducts criminal investigations into circumstances involving police and civilians resulting in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault.
