Toronto officer cleared of any wrongdoing in 29-year-old’s injuries during arrest at Scotiabank Arena

Scotiabank Arena is seen in this July 16, 2022 photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

The province’s police watchdog has cleared a Toronto police officer of any wrongdoing in connection with a struggle during an arrest at a Scotiabank Arena concert last year that left a 29-year-old man seriously injured.

On Thursday, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released its findings into the Oct. 27, 2025, incident.

The incident began when arena security asked the man, referred to as the Complainant in the SIU report, to leave, as he was inebriated and had already vomited several times.

The man stood and went out into the concourse area beside Gate 1, accompanied by staff.

“The Complainant became belligerent, gave one of the guards the finger and refused to continue his egress out of the arena,” the SIU said.

An officer—designated as the subject official (SO) in the investigation—was stationed near Gate 1, working a paid duty with another officer that night.

The SIU said when they saw what was happening, the officers walked over and intervened.

“The SO grabbed ahold of the Complainant and started to escort him towards the exit. The Complainant pulled his arm free of the SO’s hold and turned to confront the officer,” the report stated.

“There followed a scuffle between the two in which the Complainant punched in the direction of the SO’s head two or three times.”

The SIU said the SO then punched the Complainant in the face, breaking his right eye socket.

“The parties fell to the floor, where the Complainant refused to release his arms to be handcuffed and kicked out with his legs,” the SIU said.

“The SO delivered a right knee strike to the Complainant’s torso, after which his hands were handcuffed behind the back and leg restraints applied.”

The Complainant was then taken to the hospital.

In the report, SIU Director Joseph Martino stated there were no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence.

The officer and his partner, Martino said, were within their rights to arrest the Complainant as there was evidence that he was becoming confrontational with staff and refused to leave willingly.

On the use of force by the SO, the SIU director stated he was satisfied that it was “authorized at law.” Martino said the officer was entitled to resort to a measure of force to defend himself when the Complainant became physically violent.

“In the context of a struggle in which the Complainant directed several strikes at the officer’s head, and with evidence suggesting the Complainant attempted to dispossess the officer of his firearm as the two fought, a single punch (or, possibly, two) would not appear disproportionate to the circumstances at hand,” he said.

“The same may be said of the knee strike delivered by the SO. A crowd was gathering around the site of the arrest, and it was important to quickly overcome the Complainant’s resistance on the ground and secure him in restraints.”

Officer’s body-worn camera did not record incident

While the SO was not criminally charged in the incident, the SIU director said there was evidence during the investigation of potential misconduct.

Martino revealed the SO was wearing a body-worn camera at the time of the incident, but it did not record anything.

“That footage, had it been captured, would have provided important evidence to the SIU,” he stated.

Martino indicated that he will be referring the matter to Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw and the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA).

LECA is an independent civilian oversight agency that handles public complaints regarding police conduct in Ontario.