Mother speaks out after SIU announces no criminal charges for police in death of Taresh Bobby Ramroop

The mother of a man who fell to his death from a Toronto high-rise last fall is speaking out for the first time, after Ontario's police watchdog announced it will not lay criminal charges against police in the death of Taresh Bobby Ramroop.

In a statement Monday, Debbie Indal broke her silence, saying she believes "police must be held accountable for their recklessness, escalation and for keeping us from Bobby.

"We need to stop sending them into situations they will only make worse," she said.

"We are renewing our call to abolish the police and to reallocate their resources to create new responses that de-escalate and communicate with people in crisis."

The statement comes after the Special Investigations Unit said Thursday that its director, Joseph Martino, found "no reasonable grounds" to believe a Toronto police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the death on Oct. 13.

In the days after his death, family members and friends of Ramroop gathered outside the apartment building where he died, demanding that police be held accountable, saying what their loved one needed was help for his mental health — not a police response.

No such help arrived, they alleged. Nor were they allowed to speak with Ramroop in the final hours of his life, they said.

On that point, Martino noted he could not find fault with the subject officer, who was later investigated by the SIU, for choosing not to involve Ramroop's mother or other family members.

"Best practices in this area of policing suggest that the intervention of a family member into negotiations must be approached with great caution and assessed on a case-by-case basis," Martino wrote.

"The concern is that the introduction of a family member with whom a subject has strong emotional ties could trigger an impulsive or fateful reaction."

Ramroop later fell 16 floors to his death.

Ramroop of 'unsound mind' when police arrived: report

Ramroop came to Canada in 1993 at the age of three, his mother said. He loved children, the elderly, his community of Jane and Finch and wanted to become a graphic designer. His life was cut short just two weeks before his 33rd birthday.

"When you arrive at the airport they welcome you to Canada. When you fall into depression or mental health crisis, they call the police to take your life," she said. 

Police were called to the building in the Jane Street and Finch Avenue West area just before 4:30 p.m. after multiple reports that a person was tossing furniture off of a balcony on the 16th floor. Callers were concerned someone below could get hurt, the SIU said in its report.

Photos of the scene showed personal items scattered across a children's playground below, near a street-level daycare.

The report notes Ramroop, who it refers to as the "complainant," was "of unsound mind at the time."

Earlier that afternoon, Ramroop had placed a 911 call himself about someone breaking into his apartment. The report said he sounded "paranoid and delusional at the time."

"He had mentioned conspiracies and hearing 'silent noises' before hanging up the phone," the report said. 

Two officers first arrived at Ramroop's apartment at about 4:50 p.m., using a key provided by the superintendent, the report said. Inside, Ramroop's brother told them Ramroop was alone in his bedroom.

For the next half hour, the officers tried to communicate with Ramroop through the closed bedroom door, asking him to stop throwing items, the report said. Ramroop told the police to leave and continued throwing things, at one point telling police he wanted them to shoot him, it continued.

In the meantime, a third officer arrived and decided to call in the emergency task force, which arrived at around 5:30 p.m. The officer, who the SIU later investigated, was a member of the ETF, the report says.

Psychiatrist didn't arrive before Ramroop's death: report

The ETF considered rappelling down from the roof of the building into the apartment, but ultimately decided against that option in case Ramroop might be armed, the report said, adding "the sergeant ultimately decided officers would not rappel into the apartment unless the complainant was in some form of medical distress."

The report notes that in the absence of any viable options to get to Ramroop, "arrangements were being made to have a forensic psychiatrist attend the scene to give advice on the course of the negotiations.

"Regrettably, the complainant fell before the psychiatrist could attend."

Meanwhile, two other police officers replaced the first two who were inside the apartment, offering Ramroop food and drinks and medical attention.

Ramroop accepted orange juice, which was passed to him through a hole drilled into the bedroom door. He asked to speak to his mother and brother He was told he could do so, but would have to exit the bedroom first.

By about 6:40 p.m., the report says, Ramroop's behaviour became "increasingly reckless." He climbed in and out of the open window, and was hanging out of the window. An officer pleaded with him to go back inside, saying they didn't want him to die. Twice, Ramroop pulled himself back up to safety, the report says.

The third time, at about 7:01 p.m., he lost his grip, falling to his death.

Paramedics rushed over to him but he was pronounced dead shortly afterward. His preliminary cause of death was deemed "multiple trauma," the report notes. 

Ramroop was unarmed, family says

As previously reported, no mobile crisis team was dispatched in Ramroop's case.

As for why, the SIU report says that wasn't a viable option "given the possibility that a knife was in play."

Neither police nor the SIU initially mentioned a weapon in Ramroop's case. 

Ramroop's family has insisted he was unarmed and while suffering from depression, had no intention of ending his life.

The report also points to audio and video recordings in which Ramroop told police he believed they "rigged" the internet so that he couldn't call for help.

At another point, Ramroop was recorded saying, "Things are so dark, man, I don't know. No matter what there is no normal life for me."

The report also describes family members going in and out of the superintendent's office at various points to use the washroom, in contrast to the family's allegations they had been forced to wait inside a locked office for six hours as the incident unfolded.

News of the decision comes one day after Toronto city councillors adopted Mayor John Tory's full $16.1-billion spending package, which included controversial increases to the police budget, despite efforts by some councillors to force a reduction. 

Toronto has faced growing calls to reduce the city's more than $1-billion police budget in recent years. Toronto police receive about 33,000 mental health calls a year. But as previously reported, at least one advocate has pointed out not enough such calls are being referred to crisis workers. 

Ramroop's case appears to bear similarities to the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, who fell from her 24th-floor apartment balcony in May of 2020 after her mother called 911 saying her daughter needed help.

The SIU later cleared the five officers involved that day of wrongdoing, saying while their efforts to de-escalate the situation were unsuccessful, none broke the law.

In her statement, Ramroop's mother said, "No family should feel the pain we are feeling."

"Bobby, we love you with all our hearts. You are missed beyond words and beyond measure. Rest in peace, my precious son."