Police not at fault after man fatally struck by TTC bus outside Ossington Station: watchdog

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 12:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 25 minutes ago

Ontario's constabulary watchdog has cleared Toronto constabulary of wrongdoing aft a antheral was tally implicit by a TTC autobus extracurricular Ossington Station and died successful December.

Two officers were successful the presumption connected Dec. 10 aft being contacted by TTC unit for an unrelated matter, according to the study by Special Investigations Unit (SIU) manager Joseph Martino, released Friday. 

After they arrived astir 8 p.m., a TTC idiosyncratic directed them towards a 55-year-old antheral who had fallen and was incapable to determination oregon measurement well. The idiosyncratic believed the antheral was intoxicated and "completely unstable,"  the study said. 

The idiosyncratic had requested paramedics done the TTC power centre astir 10 minutes earlier helium saw the officers, according to the report, but they had not arrived yet. 

The constabulary officers attempted to talk to the man, but helium was "unresponsive," Martino wrote. 

They "detected an odour of intoxicant but were not acrophobic astir [the man's] quality to attraction for himself," helium wrote. 

The officers near the presumption aft a fewer minutes, knowing from the TTC idiosyncratic that paramedics were connected the way. The idiosyncratic besides returned to his duties, according to the report. 

About 25 minutes later, the antheral near the station. TTC footage showed he was "very unsteady" connected his feet erstwhile helium mislaid equilibrium extracurricular the station, the study reads. 

He past fell onto the roadworthy and was pinned underneath a bus. The antheral was taken to hospital, wherever helium died from his injuries. 

Not wide that officers knew urgency of situation: report

In his decision, Martino wrote the lawsuit boils down to whether the officers should person taken enactment to "safeguard" the man's wellbeing earlier the paramedics arrived. 

"In retrospect, it would look that [the man] was not susceptible of looking aft himself. He had fallen entering the presumption and was mostly uncommunicative," helium wrote. 

"That said, it is not wide that the urgency of the concern was evident to the officers." 

Though the antheral was intoxicated, helium was lasting and capable to explicit to officers that helium lived nearby, Martino wrote. According to the report, the antheral had shown constabulary an envelope with a adjacent address. 

The officers besides knew paramedics had been contacted and near believing the TTC idiosyncratic "would support an eye" connected the antheral earlier paramedics arrived, Martino wrote. 

"There is nary ground for proceeding with transgression charges successful this case," helium wrote.