York officer faces assault charge after chasing man

A York Region cop was charged with assault by Toronto police on Wednesday and has been suspended with pay.

Const. Michael Partridge, 35, is alleged to have assaulted a man who ran from police during an investigation near Queen St. W. and Lisgar St. on March 30. The Toronto Police Service (TPS) professional standards unit charged Partridge with assault and assault with a weapon.

Partridge, a York officer since 2009, was working in Toronto on a break- and-enter investigation; York Const. Andy Pattenden said such roaming isn’t unusual in GTA policing. Toronto cops said Partridge was among York officers who chased the man on foot during and caught him blocks away, behind the Gladstone Hotel.

Police allege Partridge assaulted the man as he was being arrested.

Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), was not called in, though its stated mandate is to probe incidents where someone dies, is allegedly sexually assaulted, or sustains “serious injuries” during an interaction with po- lice. TPS spokesperson Mark Pugash said in an email that the man’s injuries did not reach the threshold of the SIU’s mandate.

Pattenden said York police have started their own investigation, which won’t be completed until after the case moves through the courts.