News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Man’s Broken Elbow in Toronto Arrest
Case Number: 25-TCI-316
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 fractured right elbow suffered by a 32-year-old man.
On August 15, 2025, an officer saw a motorcyclist without a proper licence plate and followed him to the Sandman Hotel. A struggle ensued when the officers told the man he was under arrest.
Outside the hotel, the complainant, a guest of the hotel, recorded the man’s arrest with his cellphone. The officers asked the complainant to call police for assistance and showed them their badges to confirm they were police. The complainant declined and continued to record. At one point, he approached the officer’s vehicle, opened a door and looked inside. He grabbed a portable radio that the officer placed on the ledge of a pillar by the main entrance.
The officer approached the complainant, knocked the radio from his hand and brought the complainant’s right arm behind his back. The officer tripped the complainant to the ground, they struggled and he was handcuffed.
While Director Martino accepted that the complainant’s fracture was incurred in the altercation that marked his arrest, whether because of the grounding or his right arm being forced behind the back, there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the injury is attributable to any unlawful conduct on the part of the subject official.
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.
Kristy Denette, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES