An Ontario judge has agreed to ease bail conditions for a Toronto police officer and his brother charged in connection to the alleged assault of 19-year-old Dafonte Miller.
Const. Michael Theriault and his brother, Christian, who are both out on bail, are no longer subject to a curfew and are now allowed to consume alcohol. They are also permitted to leave Ontario.
The Theriault brothers are currently jointly charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, and are facing individual charges of public mischief.
The charges stem from an incident on Dec. 28, 2016, in which Const. Theriault, who was off-duty at the time, allegedly chased down Miller and assaulted him with a steel pipe in Whitby.
READ MORE: Toronto police officer charged with assaulting 19-year-old while off duty
The 19-year-old was left with a broken jaw, nose and wrist. He also lost complete vision to his left eye.
Durham Regional Police Chief Paul Martin issued a statement last Friday outlining the course of events in which his officers attended the scene, collected evidence and subsequently charged Miller with multiple offences.
The alleged assault, which wasn’t immediately reported to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the province’s independent agency which oversees police misconduct, until this past April has sparked accusations of a cover-up.
Martin stated the SIU wasn’t contacted because “it is the responsibility of the police service who employs the officer to make the determination.”
READ MORE: Toronto mayor vows to get answers in handling of Dafonte Miller assault case
According to court documents obtained by the Toronto Star, the brothers stand accused of misleading investigators, which resulted in the charge of public mischief.
Miller’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, told AM640 on Wednesday that he believes the assault investigation was bungled.
“This is clearly a case of non-investigation by Durham, that’s the only way they could have got to charging Dafonte Miller, the victim,” Falconer alleges.
“It smells of cover up when you then find out that the father of these two is the senior detective of decades with internal affairs of Toronto police.”
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
READ MORE: Toronto police chief asks Waterloo police to investigate handling of Dafonte Miller case
Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders announced during a meeting at the Toronto Police Services Board last week that the Waterloo Regional Police Service will be conducting an independent investigation into the alleged assault.
Toronto Mayor John Tory also reiterated last week that he vows to take additional measures to expose how the assault was handled if an independent police investigation and subsequent court proceedings in the case don’t satisfy the public.
The Theriault brothers are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 10.
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