Toronto man fleeing police attempted to carjack vehicle, pointing gun at back of driver’s head: SIU

A 23-year-old man pointed a gun at the back of a woman’s head and ordered her to drive while being pursued by police in North York last July, the province’s police watchdog has found.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) concluded its probe into the July 5 incident, laying no charges against the officers involved in connection with the serious injuries sustained by the man, who was designated as the Complainant in the final report.

“On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that any YRP officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the Complainant’s injury,” SIU Director Joseph Martino said.

Using interviews, police notes, video footage, and other evidence gathered, the SIU detailed what had unfolded that night.

The incident began in a parking lot near Highway 400 and Steeles Avenue, where the Complainant had just finished backing a white BMW into a parking spot. At the time, he was with a female passenger.

The SIU said a York Regional Police cruiser, operated by an officer referred to in the report as witness official # 1 (WO#1), shortly stopped nose-to-nose with the BMW.

After checking the BMW’s plate, the officer found it was a vehicle of interest to the Toronto Police Service (TPS). The SIU said the vehicle reportedly fled TPS a week or so earlier, and a note in the police file indicated that the driver should be identified.

“The Complainant honked his horn and then drove forward, striking the vehicle. He then reversed and drove forward again, striking the vehicle a second time before continuing to accelerate towards Steeles Avenue West,” the SIU said.

WO#1 then radioed what occurred and waited in the parking lot. Several officers arrived at the scene, including one designated as witness official # 2 (WO#2). After ensuring that WO#1 was okay, the officer tried to find the BMW.

The SIU said the vehicle turned right onto Jane Street and ran through a red light at Hullmar Road, colliding with another vehicle.

WO#2 saw the collision scene and noticed the Complainant outside the BMW, resting against a fence.

The Complainant was seen retrieving an object from the BMW before fleeing on foot. The SIU said WO#2 chased him. They ran for a distance and stopped at a roundabout outside a building.

“The Complainant attempted to carjack a vehicle stopped in the area. From the rear driver’s side seat of the car, he pointed a gun at the back of the driver’s head and ordered her to drive,” the SIU said.

However, WO#2 shortly arrived at the scene and pointed his gun at the Complainant, directing him to exit the vehicle.

The SIU said the man complied.

“Once out of the vehicle, WO #2, who had holstered his gun and drawn his CEW (conducted energy weapon), fired the CEW at the Complainant. The Complainant locked up and fell to the ground, a gun falling from his possession in the process,” the SIU said, adding that the officer continued to discharge his CEW until other officers arrived.

The Complainant was later handcuffed behind his back. He was later transported to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured ankle.

In his analysis, SIU Director Martino said he was satisfied that the officer’s pointing of his firearm and the multiple CEW discharges were “legally justified,” given that the Complainant was threatening a civilian with a loaded Glock pistol.

“This was clearly a proportionate use of force given the exigencies of the situation. No other weapon would have served to protect him, and the occupants in the vehicle the Complainant had commandeered, had the officer felt the need to defend himself from gunfire. Nor would it have done to withdraw or seek cover from a safe distance in the circumstances; that course might well have placed the life of the vehicle’s driver in imminent jeopardy,” Martino said.

As for the CEW discharges, the director said they were proportionate with the demands of the moment. Martino noted that the officer was alone when he confronted the armed Complainant.

“Until such time as he was restrained in handcuffs, the officer could reasonably expect the Complainant to remain a clear and present danger to the safety of those around him. He was entitled, in the circumstances, to keep him neutralized from a distance until such time as help arrived. That is precisely what he did,” Martino said.

On the Complainant’s ankle injury, the director said it was unclear how he broke it. Martino noted that there was a version of events put forth in the evidence that the fracture occurred as officers attempted to hogtie the Complainant’s feet to his hands behind the back on the ground.

But that evidence, he said, was contested by the accounts of the arresting officers who did not observe the conduct.

“It is also undermined by other evidence that detracts from the trustworthiness of this account,” Martino added.

“It might well have happened in the car crash at the Jane Street and Hullmar Drive intersection, or perhaps as he ran from WO #2. It is possible, though unlikely, in my opinion, the injury was incurred in the course of his arrest. In any event, as there is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case, the file is closed.”

A week after the incident, YRP revealed in a news release that officers seized a loaded handgun from the suspect and a quantity of suspected cocaine and fentanyl from his vehicle.

They identified the suspect as Akwasi Edusei of Toronto and charged him with numerous offences. Police noted that he was on two separate firearm prohibitions and was wanted on a warrant for previous offences at the time of the incident.