Ontario’s police watchdog has cleared Toronto police officers in relation to a 2015 death in which stun guns were discharged.
Investigators from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) say there are “no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges” in the death of 43-year-old Rodrigo Almonacid Gonzalez.
On Nov. 6, 2015, officers were called to an apartment complex in Toronto’s west end after receiving a frantic 911 call.
According the SIU investigation, a witness said that Gonzalez went on a rampage and smashed up an apartment. After holing himself up in the apartment’s bathroom, the Emergency Task Force (ETF) was dispatched to assist officers on the scene.
After forcing the bathroom door, officers said Gonzalez was sitting on the edge of a bathtub with blood on his hands, face and head, and wielding a long screwdriver. Officers said Gonzalez then lashed out and was subsequently pushed into a bathtub filled with water using a riot shield.
Two officers were then reported to have deployed their conducted energy weapons (CEWs), allowing others to handcuff Gonzalez and send him to hospital.
Gonzalez died at St. Joseph’s Health Centre the next day.
In a statement, the director of the SIU, Tony Loparco, says there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges against any Toronto Police Service officer.
“I have no concerns whatsoever with the conduct of the police up to the point of the forced entry into the bathroom. The initial police response to the 911 call was both prompt and sensible.” said Loparco.
A forensic pathologist’s report identified the cause of death as complications of acute cocaine toxicity, and did not indicate that CEW discharges played any role in the death.
“Ultimately, there exists no evidentiary basis that allows me to attribute either the injuries or the death of Mr. Almonacid Gonzalez to the use of excessive force by the police. There are thus no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has been committed, and no charges will issue,” Loparco concluded.
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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