Ontario's police watchdog says there are no grounds on which to charge a London police officer in connection with a raid in Toronto that saw an elderly man suffer a broken jaw.
The Special Investigations Unit began a probe into the June 15, 2017 incident in which members of the London police Emergency Response Unit assisted Toronto police in executing a search warrant at an apartment in Toronto.
According to the SIU, the 82-year-old man who was injured was not the target of the warrant and wasn't charged with any offences. After the incident, he was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a "non-displaced fracture of the right anterior maxilla."
The subject of the warrant was a member of the "Driftwood Crips" gang with a criminal record for violent offences. Because of this, police decided to raid the home at 5am.
When they burst through the door, the elderly man awoke and sat up on his bed. According to the SIU report, "a police officer ran towards him and the Complainant felt that he was struck and felt a pressure; he described the contact as either being physically struck or being touched by the police officer. He then went in and out of consciousness and had no further recollection of the incident."
One of the officers interviewed by the SIU told investigators he saw the man in the hall with both arms extended in front of him with his fingers out. However, visibility in the hall was poor because of the earlier use of a smoke bomb. The officer ordered the man to get down, but he believed the man was "assaultive and was obstructing his movements."
The officer then hit the man in the face with his palm and the man fell to the floor. That allowed the officer to see the man's hands and determine he was not a threat.
SIU Director Tony Loparco says, while it is unfortunate that the incident resulted in an injury to an elderly man, officers were acting lawfully and within their duties.
"While it is unfortunate that the Complainant was injured during the execution of this warrant in his home, either from the strike from the palm of the SO’s hand or his subsequent fall to the floor, I appreciate the urgency, the chaos, and the heightened awareness that the police officers entering the home had, knowing that they were there to search, and possibly apprehend, a dangerous gang member with violent antecedents and a history of access to firearms," his report says. "The Crips gang is notorious in the Toronto area and there are few people who are not aware of the danger that they and their members pose."
He adds that, while it's not in dispute that the officer caused the man's injury, he used "no more force than was reasonably necessary in the execution of his lawful duties in a fast-paced, chaotic, and potentially dangerous situation."
Loparco says the officer's actions fell within the limits of the law and there are no grounds to believe he committed a criminal offence.
