Video posted on social media appears to show a Toronto police cruiser driving over a suspect reportedly carrying a knife as he was being pursued on foot by officers.
The police service initially posted an update on one of its Twitter accounts before 6:45 p.m. on Sunday advising there were reports of a man with a knife in the area of Bathurst Street and King Street West.
The update said the man was found with a knife and taken into custody.
After that post, residents began posting videos on social media allegedly showing the pursuit. In one video, a man appears to be holding a knife as he walks around a police cruiser on the street. Approximately a dozen officers could be seen a short distance away from the suspect, following him. At one point a responding cruiser bumps into the suspect before he moves out of frame.
A second video posted on Twitter taken from a distance appears to show the suspect slowly running east along Front Street West when a cruiser, surrounded by officers on foot, drives into the suspect and pushes the man several feet before running over him. Officers could then be seen standing over the man. The Twitter user later deleted the video.
Hours after the incident, the service issued a statement that said officers were called to the initial scene before 6:10 p.m. with reports of a knife-point robbery. The statement said the suspect and an officer were taken to hospital “with injuries.”
A Toronto Paramedics spokesperson told Global News two people were taken to hospital with injuries, but they said they were unable to comment on the nature of the injuries as well as those involved.
Ontario’s independent police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), invoked its mandate late Sunday after being notified about the incident by Toronto police.
The agency said officers tried to Taser the suspect, but that he continued to flee. After being hit by the cruiser, officials said the suspect sustained a serious injury.
The SIU investigates the conduct of officers involved in incidents that have resulted in death, serious injury or alleged sexual assault.
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