The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) will not criminally charge an officer after an elderly motorist died after being struck by an unmarked police car in February.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) will not criminally charge an officer after an elderly motorist died after being struck by an unmarked police car in February.
"I am satisfied on reasonable grounds that there is no basis to proceed with criminal charges in this case," Tony Loparco, director of the SIU, wrote in a statement released Tuesday, June 24.
"The criminal offences that arise for consideration as far as the officer’s conduct is concerned are dangerous driving, and criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death. Both provisions prescribe offences of penal negligence and are predicated on a finding that the impugned conduct amounts to a marked departure from the level of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in the circumstances. While it is clear that the officer is solely responsible for the collision that occurred, her lapse of care and attention was momentary and did not amount to a marked departure for purposes of criminal liability."
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The officer, whose name was not released, was driving a Chevrolet Malibu westbound on York Mills Road Feb. 26, attempting to turn left onto Upjohn Road between 4:30 and 5 p.m., when the car struck an eastbound Cadillac.
The impact caused the Cadillac to crash into a hydro pole on the north side of York Mills Road, while the officer’s car came to a stop just south of York Mills Road on the west side of Upjohn Road.
The 81-year-old Cadillac driver was taken to North York General Hospital before transferring to St. Michael’s Hospital.
He died the following day.
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The SIU assigned four investigators, one forensic investigator and a collision reconstructionist to probe the circumstances of the crash. As part of the investigation, four witness officers and six civilian witnesses were interviewed. The subject officer also interviewed with the SIU and provided a copy of her notes. The police vehicle GPS log, Toronto Police Service computer aided dispatch report, police communications recordings and video recordings from cameras mounted on several businesses in the area were also collected and reviewed as part of the investigation.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
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