New police force should be appointed to take over investigation into death of teenaged hockey player, complaint says
An Oakville, Ont. couple has filed a request with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) to appoint a new police force to investigate the death of their 17-year-old son Benjamin who died during a hockey team-bonding event in September 2019.
Greg and Susan Teague allege in their complaint filed with the director on March 14 that the York Regional Police have failed to properly investigate Benjamin’s death. York Regional Police opened an investigation the day Benjamin died and the police service says its investigation remains active.
"York Regional Police have not conducted a proper investigation into the sudden death of our 17-year-old son Benjamin Teague," their complaint says. "They have been dismissive, rude, biased, unavailable, and willfully blind to the facts of this case. We believe that the way they have conducted themselves has obstructed the coroner and at every turn has made an actual investigation into our son’s sudden death next to impossible."
The OIPRD declined W5's request for comment.
The Toronto-based agency deals with most complaints against police in Ontario, including those that do not merit an SIU investigation. In 2021, it published 17 hearing decisions in cases with or without penalties.
- How did a healthy teen die at a minor hockey camp?
- Parents of young player who died struggle to find answers within hockey's code of silence
- Sign up for The Informant for insider-only information on W5 investigations
Before the Teagues filed their complaint with the OIPRD, the York Regional Police provided W5 with a statement about their investigation into Benjamin’s death.
“Our officers have worked diligently throughout this lengthy investigation in conjunction with the Coroner’s Office,” York Regional Police said. “While this case remains open, our investigators have not found any evidence to suggest foul play or any criminality in this incident. Therefore, this matter continues to be a death investigation and not a homicide investigation.”
York Regional Police have not responded to a subsequent request for comment on the Teague’s request for a new police service to be assigned to their son’s death investigation.
Supplied photo of Ben Teague playing for the Oakville Rangers Hockey Club.
Benjamin died following an overnight team-bonding event in September 2019 where coaches allegedly did not stop underage players from consuming alcohol and failed to take the matter seriously when a player said he was in severe distress.
A posthumous toxicology report concluded that Benjamin had the drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, in his system at the time of his death. The colourless, tasteless, odorless chemical, which is also known as a date-rape drug, can cause hallucinations and euphoria. When mixed with alcohol, it can be lethal even in small doses, Dr. Lewis Nelson, the Director of Medical Toxicology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School told W5 in an interview.
The Teague’s allege in a lawsuit filed Jan. 26, 2022 in Ontario Superior Court in Kitchener that the negligence of coaches with the Oakville Rangers Midget AA Red team during a September 2019 team event at a YMCA camp near Schomburg, Ont., contributed to the death of their son Benjamin.
Susan and Greg Teague have been searching for answers since their 17-year-old son Ben died while at a team retreat in 2019 (W5)
The Ontario Minor Hockey Association, the Oakville Rangers Hockey Club, and coaches Mark Moro, Ted Blacker, Ian Blacker and Alex Susi are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The OMHA and Rangers are named as defendants for allegedly failing to properly instruct the coaches on the importance of maintaining an alcohol-free event and having a safety and emergency plan. The OMHA and Rangers “have inexplicably permitted the coaches to continue in their roles” following Teague’s death, the lawsuit said.
The defendants allege in their statement of defence that the Rangers have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol and that coaches didn’t know any of the players were consuming alcohol or drugs.
Moro and Susi emailed identical statements to W5 denying any allegation of wrongdoing.
“All team activities were properly supervised by the coaching staff,” the statements said. “The coaches had no knowledge of any activities in which our players were involved after curfew… At all times, the club and coaches required compliance with all team policies and codes of conduct, which included zero tolerance of drugs or alcohol at any team activities.”
In their complaint to the OIPRD, the Teagues allege that when York Regional Police officers arrived at the YMCA camp after Benjamin was taken to hospital in an ambulance, they didn’t speak to any of the 13 hockey players who had been with Benjamin overnight.
York Police went to the Teague home in Oakville within ten minutes of the parents returning home after Ben died, the family said in their complaint. They said that while Police promised to return within days to discuss their investigation findings, they didn’t return to speak with them until July 2020.
The family also alleges it has taken York Regional Police many weeks to respond to both their phone calls and to the coroner who has investigated Benjamin’s death.
The family says that when they finally obtained a copy of a police report in April 2021, the report was full of mistaken medical facts, and erroneous statements attributed to the Teague’s.
The original detective investigating Ben’s death was removed from the case in November 2019 with no explanation, the Teagues said, adding that the coronor’s office was still not aware in January 2021 that the original investigating officer was no longer working on the case.
The Teagues also say that even though they have repeatedly offered to give York police Benjamin’s cell phone because they say it might have evidence including photos or video, police for nearly four years have not agreed to take possession of the phone and try to bypass its security lock.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Toronto police seek suspect vehicle after security guard shot outside Drake's mansion
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Local Spotlight
Mother collecting helmets for Manitoba First Nations to honour daughter’s legacy
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
P.E.I. lighthouse, N.B. river spotlighted in Canada Post series
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Investigating the tale of Winnipeg's long-running mystery bookstore
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.