Two off-duty Toronto police officers who allegedly travelled to Brampton to meet a teenager who tried to sell them an Apple watch on Kijiji, have been charged under the Police Services Act
The police officers realized the watch was counterfeit, leading to a physical confrontation with the teen.
Shortly after the interaction, the teenager, Chadd Facey, was taken to hospital where he later died.
The confrontation was never reported or documented and the incident only came to the attention of the Toronto Police Service after Peel Regional police got involved, according to the newly released documents from the Toronto Police Tribunal.
It’s alleged that after Constables Gurmakh Benning and Calvin Au met up with Facey and, when realized the watch was fake, they followed him and advised him that they wanted their money back, but Facey continued to flee the area.
The documents allege that Const. Au began to pursue the male on foot and Benning asked for the money back, before Au took the teen to the ground and engaged in a struggle.
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“You continued to try to maintain physical control of the male as the male continued to try to get up off the ground,” the document reads. When another man approached, Constables Au and Benning ran to their car and drove off.
“Benning then placed a call to 911 and told the call taker that it was a ‘Kijiji deal that had gone bad,’ but did not identify himself as a police officer on the call and eventually told the call taker the matter was resolved,” the documents read.
The documents say that Facey was brought to Brampton Civic Hospital shortly after the interaction where he later died. The specifics of Facey’s injuries are not addressed in the documents.
Peel police were called and started an investigation to determine the circumstances of the death. Cell phone records linked Facey to Const. Benning.
The allegations say that Const. Benning admitted to investigators from Peel police that there had been an interaction with Facey that day and that Const. Au was present.
Police allege neither officer documented nor notified the Toronto Police Service about their involvement in the incident in Brampton and their actions were only discovered as a result of another police service’s investigation.
The officers’ actions also resulted in an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit.
The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates police officers if their interactions may have resulted in the death or serious injury of a civilian. If the SIU believes that a criminal offence has been committed, an officer can be charged criminally.
In an email to Global News on Friday, the SIU said the investigation “remains ongoing at this time.”
“As part of the investigation, the SIU is awaiting documentation from external agencies,” the email reads.
Benning and Au, both stationed at 55 Division, each face six charges including misconduct, insubordination and neglect of duty and were scheduled to appear before the Police Services Board on March 29.
Police spokeswoman Connie Osborne says neither officer has been suspended. Benning and Au will be back before the tribunal on May 17.
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