A Toronto police officer has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a 19-year-old Brampton teen in 2021.
Ontario’s police watchdog said Friday Const. Calvin Au has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault in connection with the death of Chadd Facey.
The incident, which occurred on April 26, happened after the alleged sale of a counterfeit watch.
Two off-duty Toronto police officers allegedly chased and tackled Facey during the altercation. He later died in hospital.
The Special Investigations Unit launched an investigation after becoming aware of an interaction with the two off-duty cops, which was not initially reported to police.
Fay Fagan, Facey’s mother, released a statement Friday following news of the charges and said “it has been clear” that there was “some kind of misconduct” in the death of her son.
“We are happy to finally see that the officer is being held accountable for his actions,” she said through her legal counsel.
Facey was remembered as a “kind and loving young man” in the days that followed his death. He was taking psychology courses and releasing music under the stage name DPA Face before he died.
In their own statement, the Toronto Police Service said that Au, who’s been on the force for eight-and-a-half years, will be immediately suspended, per the Police Services Act.
“At the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, the Toronto Police Service will complete two additional, separate investigations. An investigation by the Service’s Professional Standards investigation Unit in to the events of April 26, 2021 and the conduct of Constable Au and Constable Gurmakh Benning, who does not face criminal charges, will resume,” the statement read.
Documents in those disciplinary hearings obtained by CTV News Toronto in April of 2022 allege Au and Benning travelled to the area of Highway 50 and Bellchase Trail to meet with Facey about a Kijiji ad he had posted about an Apple watch.
After the transaction, the documents allege, Au discovered the watch was fake and a pursuit began.
Investigators said the officers chased the teen in their vehicle before they caught up with him and demanded their money back.
The two officers then allegedly chased Facey before Au tackled him and pinned him to the ground.
Au and Benning left the scene and neither reported the incident to Peel police at the time, the documents show.
It’s alleged that Benning later reported the incident to 911 but did not identify himself as a police officer and said that the matter had been resolved.
Peel police investigators said they only discovered Facey had an interaction with the off-duty Toronto police officers prior to his death after reviewing his phone records.
Moreover, the documents show the officers did not inform TPS about the “active criminal investigation” after they were made aware of the development.
The cause of Facey’s death has never been released.
Friends of the teen said they picked him up following the incident and that he appeared unwell. Facey’s friends transported him to Brampton Civic Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A lawyer for Facey’s family said he suffered serious injuries, including a hematoma to his head, in the incident.
“This family has been suffering endlessly for two years, trying to understand what happened to Chadd and we are content that today, those responsible will be held to account for his death,” the family’s legal counsel, Asha James, said in a statement.
Au is scheduled to appear in a Brampton courtroom on March 2.
With files from CP24's Chris Fox
