One thing that’s clear is if you interfere with a police arrest, you may be arrested yourself and perhaps violently.
Even if it is not clear to you that it is a police arrest. This happens and citizens and police have gotten hurt or killed.
This story is not just about what a CityNews video shows happened to a man at Victoria and Dundas Sts. last week, but also about the need for police to address the problem of making it understood that it’s actually them who are making an arrest.
For their own safety and the public’s safety.
This incident eight days ago was recorded from a building above. What it shows is a team of undercover Toronto Police officers arresting a believed-to-be-innocent bystander in a takedown in which he can he heard expressing his discomfort in what some may say was him resisting.
Resisting arrest is an overused explanation because most people instinctively squirm and battle when they are detained – which is why it is so difficult and dangerous for officers to complete.
In this video, an onlooker is seen to approach the melee, which shows a group of officers in plainclothes on top of a suspect, and place his hand on one of these men. You can understand officers being concerned. At that point, another participant displays police identification from around his neck and shows it to the man, who started to back away and follow the command to do so.
This is when a man in street clothes comes barrelling in from out of the frame and knocks the man over with a blow to the head. The man falls straight back and is said to have hit his head on the concrete.
“TPS notified the SIU about this incident on Aug. 4 at approximately 1 a.m,” Toronto Police spokesperson Ashley Visser said. “The SIU is currently investigating, and by law, we cannot comment further.”
Kristy Denette, spokesperson for the Special Investigations Unit, confirmed the probe.
“Yes, the bystander … was seriously injured,” said Denette. “That’s why the SIU invoked its mandate and that’s the focus of our probe. He is considered our complainant.”
That unidentified man is now out of hospital, the SIU says. They have designated one subject officer and six witness officers.
Toronto Police have not so far indicated what the man was charged with or if the person pushed by the undercover officer was charged.Sources say it was a drugs investigation. The big job for the SIU is to determine if this was an assault by the police officer or was he merely responding to a potential threat of his team trying to protect a lawful arrest.
It’s a great debate. Police need the element of surprise and the city needs them to arrest drug and gun dealers. Sometimes there may be people who find themselves in the middle.
“Aside from this case, we can say that members of the public should never interfere with police operations, including physically engaging with officers,” Toronto Police Association president Jon Reid told CityNews. “Officers do not know the motive or intent of the person interfering, nor do they know if they are armed, under the influence, etc.”
Reid added, “We understand that watching someone get arrested can be upsetting, often there is a struggle.”
What the SIU will have to determine is if what was used on the man who intervened was excessive or appropriate. What did the officer think he was dealing with? Did he think the person leaning into the melee was armed with a knife or if there was a potential risk to his team?
The SIU also will have to determine if this man didn’t realize these were police officers and was trying to stop a mugging.
It won’t be easy. It’s not open and shut. There are two sides to it. Both of equal value. There are many factors and perspectives. The SIU will weigh all of it.
That said, the outcome of a civilian onlooker ending up in hospital is not what anybody wants to see and this needs to be talked about in a meaningful way. The system is set up as ‘us and them’ but for once it would be better if it was used as a learning moment for both the public and police.
It appears in the video that the man did not see the officer coming at him because he was behind a fellow cop asking him to move back. Perhaps the officer who pushed the man couldn’t clearly see either past his own crew mate.
But the biggest question, especially after the tragic 2021 death of undercover officer Jeffrey Northrup in the City Hall parking garage, is how can there be better identification to people that they are dealing with police? In that case, the accused originally charged with first-degree murder was acquitted because the jury believed he didn’t know and he was trying to get away from what he thought was a gang of carjackers.
Chief Myron Demkiw apologized and ordered a review.
Perhaps a solution could see undercover teams deploy at least one member in bright police attire under their clothing – even on hot and cold days. Very quickly a police uniform added to the mix along with large police ID badges could curtail confusion in some cases. It could make it safer for people like this wounded man and for police who have seen peers die.