Jan 2025 - Another Balcony Death
balcony death policeOntario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), is once again under scrutiny after the tragic death of a 44-year-old woman, who fell from her apartment balcony just after interacting with Toronto police early Monday. Officers had arrived at an apartment on High Park Avenue, in search of a wanted person, when the incident occurred shortly before 2 a.m. This is eerily reminiscent of another case at the same highrise, where a woman fell from a balcony during an interaction with police in 2020. Despite these tragic patterns, the SIU continues to operate as a broken and biased institution, failing to hold police accountable for their actions.
The SIU is supposed to be an independent body that investigates police-related deaths and serious injuries, but in reality, it’s far from impartial. The vast majority of investigators—23 out of 28 part-time members—have a police background. How can we expect real accountability when the very people tasked with investigating police actions are former officers themselves? This creates a system where cops are effectively policing cops, and justice is far from the goal. It’s a deeply entrenched system of protection, not oversight.
Take the case of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, the 29-year-old Indigenous-Ukrainian-Black woman who tragically fell 24 stories to her death after Toronto police arrived at her home in response to a domestic disturbance. Despite the family's belief that police involvement played a role in her death, the SIU cleared all officers of any wrongdoing. Their rationale? There was "no evidence" of police involvement, even though officers were under no obligation to cooperate with the investigation. The fact that the SIU failed to even compel officers to cooperate speaks volumes about their lack of commitment to true oversight.
In 2019, a staggering 96.4% of SIU investigations resulted in no charges against officers. The pattern is clear: the SIU is a shield for police, not a check on their power. Its failure to hold officers accountable continues to fuel public distrust and a growing belief that the system is designed to protect the very people who should be held responsible. When the SIU is so clearly compromised, how can we trust that it is working in the interest of justice? The truth is, it’s not. It’s working for the police, not for the people. #JusticeForRegis #PoliceImpunity #ReformTheSystem
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