Officer convicted in Dafonte Miller beating resigns from Toronto police, avoids disciplinary tribunal
Michael Theriault suspended without pay since November 2020 sentencing
The man convicted of beating Dafonte Miller has resigned from the Toronto Police Service and therefore won't face a disciplinary tribunal ruling.
Michael Theriault, now a former Toronto police constable, was previously convicted of assault for a 2016 attack on Miller that caused him to lose an eye.
Theriault was sentenced to nine months behind bars and was later acquitted along with his brother of additional charges of aggravated assault and obstruction of justice. Ontario's highest court upheld Theriault's conviction last year.
Theriault was previously suspended with pay, but was later suspended without pay after his sentence was issued in November 2020.
In a report released last November, Toronto police Chief James Ramer said Theriault had been served with a notice of hearing under the Police Services Act, and that the force was seeking his termination.
Theriault was set to appear before the Toronto police disciplinary tribunal on Tuesday. However, his police act charges were stayed after the hearing officer learned that Theriault had resigned from the service on April 19.
During the course of his criminal trial, prosecutors alleged Theriault and his brother chased Miller in the early hours of the morning on Dec. 28, 2016, and beat him with a metal pipe, leaving him with a ruptured eye and other injuries.
The defence, meanwhile, argued the brothers acted in self defence while trying to arrest Miller, who they said had been breaking into the family truck.