Man pushed to the ground by Toronto undercover officer suffering from headaches, lack of sleep

Piash Alam has struggled with headaches, lack of sleep and the weight of a looming obstruction of justice charge in the days since he was pushed to the ground by an undercover police officer in Toronto.

Alam, who spoke exclusively with CityNews alongside his wife Srishty and friend who witnessed it, has no memory of the push that left him with a fractured skull.

The last thing the 34-year-old remembers before waking up in a hospital bed the next day was having a few drinks with friends at the Imperial Pub.

The video, which was also exclusively shot by CityNews Toronto, shows a group of plainclothes officers trying to subdue a suspected drug dealer in an alleyway near Dundas Street East and Victoria Street Lane at around 7 p.m. on Aug. 3.

As the officers attempt to arrest the individual, Alam walks up and puts his hand on one of the officers, which is quickly swatted away.

Two of the officers then identify themselves by producing their badges. Moments later, a third plainclothes officer rushes in and forcibly pushes the man to the ground. He appears to strike his head with great force.

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Asif Iqbal Arnob was with Alam that evening and witnessed the incident. He said they were about to head home when they saw one man appear to be running and three or four men running behind him before grabbing the man and pushing him to the ground.

“We did not understand that it was an undercover operation. It looked like maybe someone was getting mugged,” said Arnob.

Before he knew it, Alam had walked over to check on the man.

What happens next is all captured within the video, but Arnob said it felt like it happened in slow motion.

“That whole moment when he was falling down, it was like slow motion in my head. I know his wife, I know his kid. In my head, I’m like, ‘Please don’t hit your head on the ground.’ And then that’s what happens, like, I say, crack, and I rush towards him, and I see that he’s, like, completely unconscious. He’s not responding at all.”

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Arnob said Alam was unconscious for three to four minutes before opening his eyes.

“I think about another five, seven minutes later, the EMTs came through, and they took a look at him. By then, he came back into consciousness but was still limp. He had no ability in his body to stand or sit up or anything.”

He said police had called the EMTs on the scene. Arnob said they also began questioning the officer who pushed him.

“You could have just shoved him to the side or anything. What he did was violent, to be honest. It was not a regular kind of a push.”

The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is looking into the incident, telling CityNews that “the man was taken to hospital via EMS and diagnosed with serious injuries in hospital.”

Alam’s wife, Srishty, learned about the incident from Arnob and headed straight to the hospital with her and Alam’s six-year-old son. When they arrived, Srishty said Alam didn’t recognize her and appeared very confused. He had also been restrained and became very agitated.

“It hurts seeing him in this helpless position, and his state was very vulnerable. Seeing him like that was very devastating for me,” said Srishty.

Alam spent three days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and has been diagnosed with a fractured skull that is expected to take at least four weeks to heal. He also said he is at an enhanced risk of seizures right now.

“I had headaches all day, all right, but over the last two to three days. I feel slightly better during the day, but otherwise, [the] headache is a persistent problem.”

However, sleep has been an issue.

“I’m really struggling with not being able to sleep beyond 20 to 30 minutes. Throughout the night, I’m not sleeping.”

Video of incident making a difference

On Monday, Toronto police confirmed that Alam had been charged.

Police haven’t revealed the charge, but Srishty tells CityNews he was charged with obstructing a peace officer and read his rights while awaiting a bed in the ICU hours after the incident.

“At least four officers [were] standing right in front of his room. One of them came inside when he gained consciousness and told him that you were under arrest for obstruction of a police officer doing his duty. And I don’t know what he made of it, whether he could comprehend what he was being asked about,” said Srishty.

Alam hoped the charge would be dropped, but fighting it could cost up to $10,000.

“I’m not happy with the fact that I have to spend this money to fix something that the police system right did wrong.”

Srishty said having a video of the incident, she thinks, has made a great deal of difference.

“In this case, because the police had no idea that they were being filmed, this is the kind of force they apply on a civilian; they could definitely tell he’s a civilian or at least an unthreatening person,” she said.

“I’m grateful the video is there for me actually to get recollection of everything that has happened, and for the video to give me back five, 10, 15 minutes of my life that I otherwise would have completely backed out,” added Alam.

Arnob said the SIU had contacted him for an investigation but not Toronto police. They also hope to obtain security footage from the Imperial Pub to see if the incident was captured from a different angle.