Police not at fault after man fatally struck by TTC bus outside Ossington Station: watchdog
Man was 'unresponsive' in conversation with 2 officers before his death, report says
Ontario's police watchdog has cleared Toronto police of wrongdoing after a man was run over by a TTC bus outside Ossington Station and died in December.
Two officers were in the station on Dec. 10 after being contacted by TTC staff for an unrelated matter, according to the report by Special Investigations Unit (SIU) director Joseph Martino, released Friday.
After they arrived around 8 p.m., a TTC worker directed them towards a 55-year-old man who had fallen and was unable to move or step well. The worker believed the man was intoxicated and "completely unstable," the report said.
The worker had requested paramedics through the TTC control centre about 10 minutes before he saw the officers, according to the report, but they had not arrived yet.
The police officers attempted to speak to the man, but he was "unresponsive," Martino wrote.
They "detected an odour of alcohol but were not concerned about [the man's] ability to care for himself," he wrote.
The officers left the station after a few minutes, knowing from the TTC worker that paramedics were on the way. The worker also returned to his duties, according to the report.
About 25 minutes later, the man left the station. TTC footage showed he was "very unsteady" on his feet when he lost balance outside the station, the report reads.
He then fell onto the road and was pinned underneath a bus. The man was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Not clear that officers knew urgency of situation: report
In his decision, Martino wrote the case boils down to whether the officers should have taken action to "safeguard" the man's wellbeing before the paramedics arrived.
"In retrospect, it would appear that [the man] was not capable of looking after himself. He had fallen entering the station and was largely uncommunicative," he wrote.
"That said, it is not clear that the urgency of the situation was apparent to the officers."
Though the man was intoxicated, he was standing and able to express to officers that he lived nearby, Martino wrote. According to the report, the man had shown police an envelope with a nearby address.
The officers also knew paramedics had been contacted and left believing the TTC worker "would keep an eye" on the man before paramedics arrived, Martino wrote.
"There is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case," he wrote.