SIU charges civilian in assault case

Off-duty TPS officer was charged Friday for same Whitby incident

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has charged a civilian for the first time after a Whitby man was assaulted with a metal pipe in December.

Christian Theriault is the second man charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and public mischief after the SIU, which investigates deaths, serious injuries or alleged sexual assaults involving police, caused the same charges to be laid against Toronto police Const. Michael Theriault, this week.

The fact that two police forces involved did not report the incident to the SIU is yet another example of protecting the thin blue line, former SIU director André Marin said.

“It’s not a case of negligence . . . There’s a deliberate thought process,” said Marin, who served as Ontario’s ombudsman for a decade starting in 2005 and was also a SIU director from 1996 to 1998.

“It’s not fumbling ‘Keystone Cops’ here, it’s a consistent — and I’ve seen it in hundreds of cases — consistent thought process: Avoid the SIU at all cost.”

Neither Durham Regional Police, the jurisdiction where the incident occurred, nor Toronto police reported the officer to the SIU. Under Ontario’s Police Services Act, which regulates law enforcement in the province, a chief of police must “notify the SIU immediately of an incident involving one or more of his or her police officers that may reasonably be consid- ered to fall within the investigative mandate of the SIU.”

Theriault was off-duty at the time of the incident and is currently suspended with pay. Toronto police spokesperson Meaghan Gray said an experienced SIU liaison officer who works for Toronto police was notified of the incident on the day it occurred, Dec. 28, 2016. The officer determined not to call the SIU after looking at all of the information available at the time. Durham police spokesperson Dave Selby declined to comment, citing “active charges now before the court.”

Asked why Durham police did not contact the police watchdog, Selby said “it is the responsibility of the police service that employs the (involved) officer to contact the SIU.”

The December 2016 incident resulted in “serious injuries” that took an emotional toll on 19-year-old Dafonte Miller. The SIU did not name the victim, but Leisa Lewis has told the Star that the young man is her son.

“I can’t picture this happening to a group of white kids walking through a neighbourhood,” Lewis said. “So I do think race played some part in it.”

None of the allegations have been proven in court and Miller’s mother said he is still too traumatized by the incident to talk about it with reporters.

It was the family’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, who contacted the SIU about the assault in April.

Michael Theriault was arrested Tuesday and released on bail, facing charges of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and public mischief.

According to Falconer, Christian Theriault is Const. Michael Theriault’s brother.

This marks the first time that Ontario’s police watchdog has laid charges on a civilian who has never before worked as a police officer, according to SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon.

Falconer said the father of the two alleged attackers is a detective with over 30 years’ experience with Toronto police.

“The way they were rousted, the way they were approached, the absolutely, utterly, inexplicable circumstance for getting in these kids’ faces is all about the colour of their skin,” he said of his client, who is Black.

In his time as SIU director from 2008 to 2013, Ian Scott said he struggled to get police forces on board with tackling delayed notification to the SIU or nonnotification. The fact that the SIU was not notified “cries out for an explanation,” he said.

Falconer said Michael Theriault identified himself as a police officer and questioned a group of young men after he saw them walking on the street in Whitby.

He allegedly chased them down when they didn’t respond, and attacked Miller. When Durham police arrived, Michael Theriault identified himself as a Toronto police officer.

According to an SIU press release, Durham police arrested a 19-yearold, who was later taken to hospital and “diagnosed with serious injuries.” Miller was charged on Dec. 28 with possession of a weapon, two counts of assault with a weapon, theft under $5,000 and possession of marijuana, court officials said.

Court records show that all charges against Miller were dropped in May, without a trial, at the request of the Crown attorney. Falconer said Miller suffered a broken nose, broken orbital bone, fractured right wrist and an eye so badly damaged that it will have to be removed.

Christian Theriault will appear in court on Aug. 10. With files from Peter Goffin and Alexandra Jones