Off-duty Toronto cop charged with manslaughter in 19-year-old's death
CBC
A Toronto police constable has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault in connection with the death of a 19-year-old in 2021, the province's police watchdog says.
In a news release issued Friday, the provincial Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced charges had been laid against Const. Calvin Au, in connection with the death of 19-year-old Chadd Facey.
"The investigation found that on April 26, 2021, two off-duty Toronto Police Service officers met and interacted with Mr. Facey in Brampton," the news release reads. "Later that day, Mr. Facey was transported to hospital by ambulance where he was subsequently pronounced deceased."
Au is scheduled to appear in court in Brampton on March 2.
The SIU, which investigates the conduct of law enforcement officials where death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person occurred, said it would not make further comment on the investigation as the matter is now before the courts.
In a statement made through the law firm Falconers LLP, Facey's mother Fay Fagan said it has been clear to the family that "some kind of misconduct" had happened in connection with her son's death.
"We are happy to finally see that the officer is being held accountable for his actions," she said.
Facey's obituary said he was a "loving and cherished son, brother, and uncle" who will be "greatly missed by his extended family and friends."
Toronto police disciplinary documents lay out what allegedly happened during the incident. Both Au and Const. Gurmakh Benning are facing separate discipline charges stemming from a failure to report their connection to what happened, but Benning has not been criminally charged. The disciplinary charges have not yet been tested at the police tribunal.
Toronto police say Au, 33, has been with the force for eight and a half years, and was most recently assigned to 55 Division. He "will be immediately suspended per the Police Services Act," Const. Cindy Chung said in an email.
According to tribunal documents, on that day in April, Au and Benning were both off duty when they travelled to Brampton for a meeting with a man who had been advertising an Apple watch for sale on Kijiji.
Right after the transaction, Au realized the watch was counterfeit. That's when, the documents allege, Benning drove his car in the direction Facey was last seen running, eventually catching up to him. Benning said the watch was fake and he wanted his money back, but Facey continued to run, according to the tribunal.
Au then got out of the vehicle and ran after Facey, eventually catching up with him. Benning told Facey to give him back his money, and reached for it while Au "took the male to the ground," the documents say.
Au was "engaged in a struggle" with Facey while they were on the ground, with the officer trying to "maintain physical control" as Facey tried to get up, according to the tribunal. A second man then approached the area and both officers ran to their car and drove away, the documents say.
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