Man panicked, jumped from Toronto balcony after being awoken by police breaking down door: SIU

The headquarters for the Special Investigations Unit is seen here.

A man said he jumped from his Toronto balcony because he panicked after being awoken by officers breaking down his apartment door to execute a search warrant over the summer, the province’s police watchdog has found.

On Thursday, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) concluded its probe into the Aug. 23 incident, clearing members of Toronto police’s Emergency Task Force (ETF) of any wrongdoing in relation to the serious injuries sustained by the man, designated as the Complainant in the report.

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“In the instant case, the question is whether there was a want of care on the part of the ETF officers, sufficiently egregious to attract criminal sanction, that caused or contributed to the Complainant’s injuries. In my view, there was not,” SIU Director Joseph Martino wrote.

“I am also satisfied that the ETF officers comported themselves with due regard for public safety, including the Complainant’s well-being, throughout their engagement at the scene.”

According to the SIU, Durham Regional Police officers had plans to search an apartment on Adelaide Street in Toronto that day and arrest the Complainant, who was wanted for serious firearms-related offences.

Given the nature of his crimes and the possibility that he might be armed, Toronto police ETF were called to help and enter the unit first to ensure that the scene was safe for the search team.

Police body-worn footage submitted and viewed by the SIU, which was included in the report, showed one of the ETF officers hitting the apartment door with a battering arm and shouting, “Police, search warrant.”

When the door opened, a man was heard screaming from a distance, the SIU said. Police remained in the hallway and continued calling the Complainant to come to the door. Officers later decided to enter the unit, but seconds later, an officer outside the door said, “He jumped down.”

That prompted ETF officers to attend the lower floor, where a tenant said to them, “He’s on my patio.”

They went inside the unit and found the Complainant on the balcony. He was handcuffed and informed the officers that his arm was fractured from the fall, estimated to be from the height of 20 feet.

The officers were heard in the body-worn footage asking why he jumped, and he told them that he was half-asleep and panicked.

The Complainant was transported to the hospital and was diagnosed with a fractured right arm and dislocated right elbow.

In his analysis, the SIU director said the choice of no-knock breach of the front was reasonable given that the Complainant was wanted for serious firearms offences and police had cause to suspect that he was armed.

“Moreover, it should be noted that this was not a full-blown dynamic entry. Rather, once the door opened, the ETF announced their presence and called-out to the Complainant from the hallway. Regrettably, the Complainant chose to attempt an escape from the balcony and ended up seriously hurting himself,” Martino said.

“Aside from being the impetus for the Complainant’s behaviour, however, I am satisfied that the ETF did not contribute to that decision in any fashion that could attract criminal sanction. Nor did they have any opportunity to prevent the Complainant from hurting himself given the speed with which events unfolded.”