News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Vaughan Arrest
Case Number: 25-TCI-296
Around midnight of July 31, 2025, an off-duty Toronto Police Service officer was driving home northbound on Highway 400 when he was involved in a collision just south of Rutherford Road. A 39-year-old man had caused the accident when his northbound van rear-ended another vehicle. The officer pulled over and brought his vehicle to a stop. In an attempt to flee, the the driver of the van exited the vehicle and began to make his way towards a fence. The officer followed the man intending to arrest him for impaired driving. After the man climbed the fence and ended up in a parking lot, the officer forced him to the ground. Another TPS officer, also off duty at the time but who had been travelling home on the same route, arrived and joined in the struggle. York Regional Police arrived, and took the man into custody. At hospital, he was diagnosed with a broken nose. On his assessment of the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s arrest and injury.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision): https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.
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