An intoxicated Toronto man who suffered several serious bone fractures after falling from a balcony in an attempt to escape arrest is to blame for his own injuries, the province's civilian police oversight unit said.
That's the conclusion of Special Investigations Unit (SIU) director Joseph Martino, who said he has terminated an investigation into the serious injuries suffered by a 42-year-old man last year.
On the morning of Sept. 19, 2024 Toronto Police Service officers arrived at the front door of an apartment building in the area of Broadway Avenue and Yonge Street after a woman reported she had been assaulted by her male partner, the SIU said in a release.
The officers knocked on the door and were greeted by a "heavily intoxicated man," the SIU said.
Police told the man he would be arrested for assault and allowed him to go back into the apartment to get dressed as they waited outside the door.
Minutes later officers called into the apartment but received no response.
They soon realized the man had fallen from the back balcony of the apartment.
Broken leg, fractured clavicle and spine
Paramedics were called and the man was taken to hospital.
The SIU said he suffered a broken leg and fractures to his clavicle and spine.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, including a review of video footage that captured the incident in part, Martino said he was satisfied the investigation should be discontinued.
"At no point did officers enter the apartment prior to the man’s fall. At no point did the officers have reason to believe that the man might attempt to escape via the balcony," the SIU stated.
"On this record, it was evident that the man was alone responsible for the fall resulting in his injuries. Accordingly, there was patently nothing to investigate as far as the officers’ potential criminal liability was concerned, and the file has been closed."
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person.
