In May 2022, Patrick Tomchuk was driving a stolen truck. He was taken down while putting gas in the truck. While Patrick was down a fourth officer Brian Wren arrives and kicks Patrick in the head a number of times. A person in a car recorded the incident. Wren was charged and he pleaded guilty. In court Wren said he feared Patrick had a gun in the truck that he could use. How would Patrick get to his truck? He has 3 officers on top of him and he is knocked out. Wren is a disgrace to other officers. In the video it appears Patrick is knocked out but Wren continued to kick him. Read more about Patrick's case.
On September 17, 2021, a 26 year old was seriously injured after he was arrested by Peel Regional police. We don't know in this case, but usually 3 or 4 officers respond to a call. Police need to improve on their tactics so that 3 people are able to control 1 person so that person is not seriously injured. We have not heard an update since the case hit the news. Follow this case.
In August 2021 a lady with a knife was shot and killed by 2 Ontario Provincial police. Whatever happened to using a taser first? Read more about this case.
In June 2021, police were called to an apartment complex because a man was acting erratically in a hallway. Before the ambulance could arrive the officers arrested the man however he was injured while being arrested. We really need to have the discussion if police need to be involved in mental health related calls. Read more about the case.
On May 25, 2021, Ty Truong was punched and kneed while Ty was on the ground. The first officer had Ty on the ground. When a second and third officer came in after Ty was on the ground the second officer punched and knned Ty. We have repeatedly asked this question on the website "when a second officer gets involved in an incident, why does it look like they go straight to assaulting instead of accessing the situation first. Very similar to Chief Allan Adam and Myles Gray.
Follow Ty's case.
In April 2021, Ottawa police officer Eric Post pleaded guilty to assault, threatening and confinement. He resigned from the force. When he was abusing his female victims Eric was saying he is "untouchable" because he is a police officer. However, this case is proof that police officers can also be charged as long as the complaint is put in. One female victim, out of many, was afraid of making a complaint at the police station because Eric himself was a police officer. We congratulate the victims on making their complaints. A similar case happened in British Columbia where former officer Brian Burkett was charged. Read more about Eric.
Jason Peterson shot twice on July 7, 2020 while in his car, once in the arm and one in the back of the head. His family is asking why Hamilton Police shot Jason in the back of the head. Read more about Jason's shooting.
73 year old Leslie Hegedus was shot and killed by 2 Ontario Provincial Police officers who attended a grocery store because Leslie didn't want to wear a mask. There was some type of dispute at the store and as a result Leslie lost his life because of the Corona Virus.
On May 10, 2020 (Mother's Day) Peel police officers arrived to Chantelle Krupka's house because of a complaint made by Chantelle's ex-husband. Chantelle and her partner were tasered and Chantelle was also shot in the stomach. The officer who shot Chantelle resigned from the police force. The officer has also been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm. Read more about Chantelle.
Another Chantelle, Chantel Moore lost her life when she was shot by police in New Brunswick.
On April 6, 2020 D'Andre Campbell called Peel Regional police because of mental health issues. Police had been to his house previously due to mental health issues. D'Andre was holding a knife. D'Andre was shot in front of his mother and 2 siblings. We wonder if a mental health nurse would have been more effective in de-escalating the situation. Peel Regional poice chief Nishan Duraiappah issued a statement calling it a "rare and tragic situation." The situation is definitely tragic. We don't think it is "rare" because if you look up and down this page and on the pages for different provinces and states you will see more violent encounters by police against people suffering from a mental health crisis. Also, we think the definition of rare would be every few years and not every few months.
If you look up you will read about Ejaz Ahmed Choudry and if you look down you will read about Clive Mensah both who were suffering from mental health problems. Ejaz died a few months after D'Andre and Clive died a few months before D'Andre. So we don't consider D'Andre's case as "rare." Read more about D'Andre.
On January 7, 2020 Jamal Francique was shot in an arrest that didn't go as planned. Jamal was shot while trying to escape from an arrest. He was shot around 6pm and the tactical team was called because the police thought Jamal had a gun. The tactical team arrived around 8pm, so about 2 hours later. Jamal was rushed to the hospital and died 3 days later. There were no surveillance videos to verify the police's version of events. Jamal was left in his car for 2 hours. If he had gotten medical attention immediately he might have survived.
The investigation concluded with no charges to the officer who shot Jamal. Jamal's family lawyer argued that these investigations are more in favour of not charging the police officers. Examples like Ejaz Ahmed Choudry, D'Andre Campbell, Clive Mensah among many more show that police officers don't get charged frequently. Read more about Jamal.
On November 20, 2019, Peel police officers were called on a noise complaint to a group home where Clive Mensah lived. Clive suffered from a mental illnes. A few minutes after police arrived Clive went into his backyard Clive and was tasered several times, restrained and pepper-sprayed. Clive was dead soon afterwards. In a report released in Mid January 2021 only one officer of the 3 has spoken with investigators and the other 2 have refused, which is their legal right. The report mentions that Clive was tasered 6 times and was even tasered while he was on the ground face down.
We don't understand how the police can refuse to testify. It must go back to the late 1800's where police in England had lowered their police misconduct rules because they were having a difficult time retaining officers either because they were quitting or being dismissed. If a person didn't testify in court on something they were charged with there would probably be an assumption by the jury that the person is either guilty or hiding something. You, as the public jury, what do you think? Are the 2 officers hiding something which is why they have not testified? Read more about Clive's death
In 2019 Sgt. Tammy Bradley drove an Indigenous man 10 minutes from Armstrong and told him not to return or he would be charged with trespassing, which is a lame threat. He walked back in the summer heat drinking water from mud puddles. Tammy has been suspended while the police investigate her. This is like the starlight tours that happened in the 1970's. Hasn't anything changed?
In December 2017, a Ottawa police officer was suspended with pay on a number of charges which include assaulting his former girlfriend, harrassing a female he was mentoring, accessing a police database to send confidential information to his email and discharging his firearm while off duty. Three and a half years later he is still suspended with pay. So taxpayer dollars are still being used to pay him. Would a person in the private sector also get pay while they are not working? Shouldn't it be if you are not working then you don't get pay however if you are proven innocent after the investigation and then the person can be compensated? So strange. Read more about the case.
In January 2017, Andrew Henry was kicked and Tasered while lying face down on the ground. His arrest is being looked at by the Toronto Police Professional Standards division because of the kicking and tasering as well as 2 officers talking mean to a witness who was video recording the incident.
On December 15, 2016, Soleiman Faqiri was assaulted by jail guards and died of his injuries. The video of his last moments of his life is disgusting to watch. The nurse testified for the investigation that Soleiman was calm before the guards took him. That shows that nurses should be taking care of mentally ill because they are trained for it unlike law enforcement people. Soleiman was pepper sprayed 2 times, layed on his stomach and had a spit hood placed on him before he died. Just disgusting. Another disgusting jail death happened 5 years later in Manitoba. William Ahmo died after being assauled by jail guards. One guard was charged. Don't jail guards learn? Disgusting! Read more about Soleiman's death.
Kwasi Skene-Peters, 21, was shot and killed on July 25, 2015 in his car when 2 officers were going to arrest him. He was wanted on murder charges. The officers claim that Kwasi shot at them first and they returned fire. During a hearing into the killing the Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said the officers acted in self-defence. However the officers did not participate in interviews or provide copies of their duty notes during the SIU investigation. We do not understand why the officers didn't want to share their notes or participate in interviews if they claim they were acting in self-defence and shot at Kwasi after he shot at them. Also since Kwasi was wanted for a double murder why did the 2 officers tried to arrest him on their own and didn't wait for more back-up which might have made Kwasi less likely to shoot at officers? Read more on Kwasi's shooting
On July 4, 2015 Toronto Police were called to a group house associated with the Canadian Mental Health Association. Andrew Loku was arguing with the tenant in the suite above him because they were noisy. It was around midnight. Andrew was carrying a hammer. Witnesses say within 10 to 25 seconds after a police officer arrived Andrew was shot dead. Read more about Andrew's shooting.
Daniel Clause was killed by police on December 31, 2014. He matched the description of a person who robbed Warden Station TTC booth. The officers said they shot him after he pointed a gun at them in a parking lot of an apartment complex. It ended up being a pellet gun. We don't know if the officers asked him if he was carrying a weapon or how long the interaction with the police was. This shooting has some similarities to the shooting death of 12 year old Tamir Rice where after the inquiry it was mentioned that the police officers should have pulled up to Tamir further away from him so they could talk to Tamir safely. We also don't know how close the officers were to Daniel in the parking lot. Typically a parking lot is quite large so the possibility of talking to a robbery suspect, who might be carrying a gun, from a safe distance should have been possible. Read more about Daniel's shooting.
On July 27, 2013, 18 year old Sammy Yatim was shot and killed by a Toronto Police Service officer inside an empty Toronto street car. Sammy was armed with a 4.7 inch switchblade. The officer shot Sammy 3 times and Sammy went down. While Sammy was down the officer fired 6 more times. Adding insult to injury to Sammy a second officer then tasered Sammy. The officer who shot Sammy was found guilty of attempted murder. Read more about Sammy's shooting
On July 25, 2013 a distraught man, whose name was not release on the Special Investigation Unit's report, called a few people he knew saying he was going to burn himself on his boat. The Ontario Provincial Police got involved and went to his trailer where he lived. Before going to his trailer there was discussion by the police that the man might get agitated if the police show up to his house because the day prior he was convicted for driving while suspended. It is quite common that a person with a mental illness get agitated when they see police. One of the reasons for that is because if they are certified by the Mental Health Act it is the police who make the arrest. For a lot of people this could be their first dealings with police and it is an arrest then they are forcibly taken to a hospital and most likely given medications. So if they see a police coming for them again they can get agitated. In this particular case the man ran out of his trailer, naked, which quite easily shows that he was probably distraught and agitated. He had a rifle on a picnic table, grabbed it and pointed it to the officers and was shot to death soon after that. An officer tried using a Taser but since the man was about 40 feet away a Taser would not reach.
Too bad more officers are not like this officer and try using Tasers first instead of guns especially if the person has a small knife on them. Maybe Sammy Yatim would still be alive today if he was Tasered first instead of being shot 8 times.
It might be a better outcome if a person is clearly making suicidal threats that a counselor or a nurse contact the person. It might have saved this man's life. From the report it seems like this man got really agitated when he saw the officers.
May 2, 2012 33 year old Matthew Roke was shot and killed by Ontario Provincial Police. Matthew's parents had called police because he had threatened them. Four police officers arrived at the scene. Matthew started to walk down the road with the officers walking behind him. The officers didn't have a Taser with them because a Taser is only issued to the tactical team. An officer was on their way to the scene however Matthew turned around and started to walk towards the officers when he was shot dead. It seems like luck is not in the favor of the mentally ill when police get involved. If an officer with a Taser was sent to the house in the first place Matthew would probably still be alive today. Imagine how Matthew's parents must feel because they are the ones who called police. Read more about Matthew's shooting.
Frank Anthony Berry was shot and killed on February 20, 2012 by Toronto Police Service while he was running away from police. He had allegedly been breaking into a car before this incident. Frank ran into a dead-end and with scissors in his hand he was shot twice by the police and died. According to the report Frank was shot at when he was about 5 feet from them. In the case of the "distraught man" a Taser was tried when he was about 40 feet away however a Taser can reach about 25 feet. Now when Frank was 5 feet away an appropriate weapon would have been a Taser but a gun was used instead. Maybe police need more practice on what weapon to use when in dangerous situations. Read more about Frank's shooting.
On August 9, 1988 African-American Lester Donaldson was shot and killed by police officers in Lester's bedroom. There were 5 police officers at Lester's house that night. Lester was shot from about 4 feet away after a 20 minute discussion with Lester. Read more about Lester's shooting.
Albert Johnson, an African-American, had been suffering from a mental illness. The police knew who he was based on his mental illness. On August 26, 1979 the Toronto Police went to Albert's house and he was shot dead. This case is quite similar to the shooting death of Barry Shantz who was well known for his mental illness and also an activist.
On August 8, 1978 Andrew "Buddy" Evans, an African-American, was shot and killed when he allegedly hit a police officer. The 911 dispatcher was demoted for saying a racial slur. Read more about Andrew's shooting.
