Off-duty Toronto police officer charged with manslaughter in death of Brampton teen

A Toronto police officer has been charged in connection to the death of a Brampton teen following an off-duty altercation over the sale of a counterfeit Apple watch.

In a release Friday, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) confirmed that Constable Calvin Au has been charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault in the death of 19-year-old Chadd Facey in April 2021.

“The investigation found that on April 26, 2021, two off-duty Toronto Police Service officers met and interacted with Mr. Facey in Brampton. Later that day, Mr. Facey was transported to hospital by ambulance where he was subsequently pronounced deceased,” the SIU release states.

Facey’s mother, Fay Fagan, released the following statement after learning of the charges.

“It has been clear to our family that there was some kind of misconduct that had occurred in respect of Chadd’s death. We are happy to finally see that the officer is being held accountable for his actions.”

The SIU wouldn’t divulge further information about the case, but documents filed at a police tribunal in April 2022 revealed that Constables Au and Gurmakh Benning, who were both off-duty at the time, went to Brampton to meet Facey and buy an Apple watch that was advertised on Kijiji.

RELATED: Brampton teen died after altercation in ‘Kijiji deal gone bad’ with off-duty cops, documents reveal

The tribunal heard that soon after the transaction took place, the constables realized the watch was fake and Benning drove in the direction of Facey, who was running away. He eventually caught up with him and asked for his money back, but Facey kept running.

Au then chased Facey down on foot and caught him. Benning once again asked for his money and while reaching for it, Au took Facey to the ground.

“You were engaged in a struggle with the male on the ground. You continued to try to maintain physical control of the male as the male continued to try to get up off the ground,” the documents read.

Sometime later, when Facey’s friends picked him up, he appeared unwell and was taken to hospital where he later died.

The Facey family attorney, Asha James, said Friday’s charges are an “important first step for the family in understanding what happened to Chadd
on April 26, 2021, and it is a clear message that whether on duty or off-duty, police are not immune from being held accountable for their wrongful conduct.

“This family has been suffering endlessly for two years, trying to understand what happened to Chadd and we are content that today, those responsible will be held to account for his death.”

With files from Dilshad Burman