News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Man’s Arrest on Roof in Toronto
Case Number: 25-TCI-027
The Special Investigations Unit found no reasonable grounds to believe a Toronto Police Service officer committed a criminal offence in connection with a fractured right ankle suffered by a 56-year-old man during his arrest. In the early morning of January 24, 2025, officers were called to a residence in the area of St. Clair Avenue West and Old Weston Road after a report that the man assaulted his girlfriend. The man was located on the roof of the two-storey building. The officer pulled the man down from the exterior ledge as he was about to attempt to climb to the third-floor roof of an adjacent building.
Director Joseph Martino found the force used was no more than was reasonably necessary to effect the arrest. The tactic made sense, Director Martino concluded, as the officer would have been rightly concerned that the man might escape apprehension or suffer an even more serious injury were he to fall from three stories instead of two.
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