News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Man’s Broken Nose in Toronto
Case Number: 25-TCI-278
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, found no reasonable grounds to believe a Toronto Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the broken nose suffered by a 62-year-old man while he was detained. On July 16, 2025, officers went to Danforth Avenue after receiving a Crime Stoppers tip about a male with a gun, along with a group of three or four others.
During that time, the man, the owner of a local business, closed his establishment for the night. The man was loading items in his vehicle when he was confronted by several officers. He and a group of five passersby in the vicinity were ordered to the ground by the officers at gunpoint. The man did not readily lower himself despite repeated directions and was forced to the ground by an officer. The handcuffs were removed after no firearms were found on him, and the man was taken to hospital.
In the result, while Director Martino accepted that the man’s nose was broken in the takedown performed by the officer, there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the injury was the result of unlawful conduct on the part of the officer.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (municipal, regional and provincial police officers, police officers with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, 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.
Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES