Kristy Denette with the SIU gives an update on the investigation into the death a man after being Tasered by police in North York.
Ontario’s police watchdog has provided more details on a deadly Tasering incident involving Toronto police over the weekend.
“The SIU was here through the night and we have a number of civilian witnesses that are being interviewed,” Special Investigations Unit spokesperson Kristy Denette told reporters at the scene Monday.
Officers were called to a home on Killamarsh Drive, in the area of Keele Street and Finch Avenue West, at around 5:41 p.m. on Sept. 7.
“Officers arrived and located a man inside the home. There was an interaction and there was a Taser that was discharged. There was a physical altercation and then that was followed by the man being handcuffed,” Denette said.
A short time after he was handcuffed the man lost vital signs, she said, with police requesting paramedics at 5:59 p.m.
“Police administered first aid and called EMS. Then they helped the man until EMS arrived and took over. Then the man was subsequently pronounced deceased,” she said.
Denette saidthe man was 32 and had lived at the lower level of the home for a short time, less than a few months.
Other residents were home at the time of the incident, she said, adding that there were no serious injuries reported to anyone else.
Denette could not confirm who called 911.
Police said Sunday that they deployed a Taser after seeing the man armed with a knife.
Denette confirmed that a knife was recovered from the scene, but she could not confirm its involvement in the incident.
The Special Investigations Unit is an arm’s length agency called in to investigate whenever police are involved in a death or serious injury.
The man has not yet been identified. The SIU is continuing to investigate.
An autopsy is set to be conducted Tuesday to determine the cause of death.
With files from CP24’s Joanna Lavoie