Boy, 16, swung machete at Toronto police officer during arrest, SIU investigating

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after a 16-year-old boy was seriously injured during an arrest with Toronto police that involved the teen swinging a machete at the officer.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) confirmed it’s looking into the incident connected to an arrest involving three teenagers, two boys and a girl, after a woman’s face was slashed at Spadina subway station on Sunday, Feb. 12.

Police said the three youths became embroiled in a verbal argument with a woman, and one of the male suspects spat in the woman’s face and pushed her repeatedly. A male then pulled out a knife and slashed the woman’s face. She was not seriously injured, and the suspects fled the area.

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One day later, officers were called to the Long Branch Avenue and Lake Promenade area around 7:40 p.m. for a disturbance involving three youths.

The SIU confirmed Toronto officers located one of the teens, and while attempting to make an arrest, the boy and another youth swung a machete at an officer. There was a struggle, and the teens fled.

Two youths were later found near Park Boulevard in Etobicoke and taken into custody overnight. The SIU said one of the teens, a 16-year-old boy, complained of pain on Feb. 14 and was taken to a hospital with injuries that were deemed serious.

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

With files from Michael Talbot of CityNews