Waterloo Regional Police will now investigate the conduct of an off-duty Toronto police officer as he arrested and allegedly beat a Whitby teen, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said Thursday.
The move to hire the outside agency to conduct the internal investigation is to ensure “transparency” going forward in the Dafonte Miller case, Saunders said.
The announcement came after members of the TPS board held an in-camera meeting on Thursday morning to consider an internal report on the case.
Miller, 19, was walking to a friend’s house in the early hours of Dec. 28, 2016 in Whitby when two men standing inside a garage of a nearby home confronted him and his friends.
Miller’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, said that one of the men identified himself as a police officer and when Miller declined to answer his questions, the officer and another man, later identified as the officer’s brother, chased Miller.
The pair allegedly beat Miller severely, damaging his eye so badly it will eventually have to be surgically removed.
None of the charges have been proven in court.
The Special Investigations Unit was not initially notified about the incident but began an investigation in April, after they were contacted by Falconer.
Saunders said the decision by Toronto police not to inform the SIU was made “with the facts they had at the time,” regarding the incident, which originally resulted in Miller being charged with weapons and drug charges that were later dropped by the Crown.
Once the SIU investigated the matter, they charged Const. Michael Theriault and his brother earlier this month with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and public mischief.
Saunders said the independent internal review, which is usually completed by the chief of the police service involved in the incident, will “look at procedures, policies, governance and conduct” of officers after they were notified the incident took place.
The father of the police officer accused in the case works in the Toronto police Professional Standards Unit, which probes cases of officer misconduct, the Toronto Star reported.
Toronto Police Services Board Chair Andy Pringle issued a statement Thursday saying the independent probe by Waterloo police is necessary “due to the fact that there are two very different versions of this case in the public domain.”
Saunders said the report that arises from the independent review will be released to the public as soon as is “legally possible.”
Journalist and activist Desmond Cole told CP24 Thursday that the fact that neither Durham nor Toronto police officers brought the case to the attention of the SIU is a “failure” that members of the police services board should be outraged about.
“Our public officials have more of a responsibility than passing the buck here,” Cole said.
Cole appeared before the police services board meeting Thursday afternoon, but was arrested for trespassing and later escorted out of the building when he attempted to speak about the Miller case, which was not on the agenda for the public portion of the meeting.
“What I went through today is nothing compared to what this 19-year-old Dafonte Miller who we’re trying to get justice for.”
He said Saunders’ decision to have Waterloo Regional Police review the conduct of officers in the investigation amounted to him “choosing his own investigator.”
He said the decision to have another police service review the case should have been made by members of the police services board.
