Adam Nobody case won’t be reopened: SIU
Posted January 30, 2012 5:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The SIU says it won’t reopen an investigation into the Adam Nobody case, despite a recommendation that the five arresting officers be charged with unnecessary force and discreditable conduct.
On Jan. 20, a review conducted by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) concluded charges should be laid against Toronto Police constables Babak Andalib-Goortani, Michael Adams, David Donaldson, Geoffrey Fardell and Oliver Simpson.
On June 26, 2010, Nobody attended a demonstration at Queen’s Park during the G20 summit in Toronto when he said five or six officers jumped him, threw him to the ground and beat him. He suffered a broken nose and cheekbone.
The arrest happened after Black Bloc violence and vandalism throughout the downtown core earlier in the day and after mounted officers had stormed through crowds gathered at the provincial legislature.
In the report, the OIPRD said the alleged excessive use of force and discreditable conduct by the five officers are “substantiated and is of a serious nature.”
The SIU, which probes incidents involving police that result in serious injury or death, said Monday the Nobody incident was the subject of two SIU investigations.
The first was closed on Nov. 25, 2010, when SIU director Ian Scott concluded that Nobody was the victim of excessive use of force based on a YouTube video of the incident, but that it was impossible to positively identify any of the officers.
The investigation was reopened on Nov. 30, 2010, after the YouTube videographer came forward to clarify the reason why the video contained a six second gap.
The second investigation resulted in the positive identification of Const. Andalib-Goortani, who was then charged by the SIU with assault with a weapon on Dec. 21, 2010. But it closed the Nobody case last July after concluding it had no grounds to charge other arresting officers.
On Monday, the SIU said the Unit reviewed the statement in the OIPRD report from acting Det.-Sgt. Chris Kirkpatrick, who conducted an analysis of the videos and still photographs taken of the Nobody incident.
Scott said, while the process of identifying the subject may be adequate for meeting the standard of proof at a police disciplinary hearing, “I remain of the view that it falls short of the evidentiary standard needed at a criminal trial. As a result, the SIU will not be reopening the Nobody investigation.”
