SIU investigating Toronto police operation after 2 men fall from apartment building
Men fell after officers breached door to execute warrant, police watchdog says
Ontario's police watchdog is investigating the circumstances that led to two men falling from an apartment balcony after Toronto police officers broke through the door to their unit Friday.
In a news release Saturday, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said officers with Toronto police's gun and gang task force, along with its emergency task force (ETF), arrived to a residential building in Liberty Village to execute a warrant at a unit on the seventh floor around 9:15 p.m.
"Shortly after the ETF breached the unit door, two men went over the balcony," the SIU said.
One 31-year-old man landed on the fourth floor, and one 27-year-old man landed on the ground, the release states.
Both of them were transported to hospital, where they remain in the intensive care unit.
Three investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the case, the unit said. The SIU didn't say how many officers are being investigated.
The SIU recently investigated a case where a man, 32, died after he fell from an apartment window in Toronto last fall. In that case, the SIU concluded there were "no reasonable grounds" to believe a Toronto police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the death on Oct. 13.
It's currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 34-year-old man who fell to his death from a balcony in a North York highrise in Toronto on Christmas Day.
The SIU is called to investigate when people are killed or seriously injured in interactions with police officers in Ontario. It's urging anyone who may have information about this investigation, including video or photos, to contact the lead investigators.