A Toronto police officer charged with assault in the death of a Brampton teen who tried to sell him and another off-duty officer a fake watch said his actions that day were reasonable and not meant to teach the teen “a lesson.”
Cst. Calvin Au was back on the stand Thursday facing the prosecutor’s questions about what happened on April 26, 2021, when he and Cst. Gurmakh Benning met Chad Facey to buy an Apple watch they found on Kijiji.
Au said the off-duty officers met with Facey near Berly Ford Public School in Brampton and gave the 19-year-old $400 for the watch. However, after taking a closer look Au realized the watch was a fake and that’s when he says Facey began to flee the scene. Following both a car and foot pursuit, Au says he came upon Benning and Facey and it was at that point he decided to take down the teen as he feared he might run off again.
Au reiterated he used a reasonable amount of force and not a “football tackle” to subdue Facey.
Crown prosecutor Sean Horgan argued that Au did not have to take Facey down as he and Benning had a tactical advantage, that they had the teen boxed in and that the chase had ended. It was also pointed out that Au outweighed the 19-year-old by 40 pounds at the time of the incident.
Au said he believed the boy’s body language contradicted the Crown’s assumptions.
“He’s standing still correct?” asked Horgan.
“No,” replied Au.
“He’s not walking backwards, agree?” asked Horgan
“No, he’s not walking backwards,” replied Au.
“He’s not walking towards Benning, agree?” asked Horgan
“Agree,” said Au.
“So what is he doing, a sideways shuffle?” mused Horgan
“He’s still angled towards Bell Chase Trail,” replied Au.
The Crown went on to argue that the “takedown” was motivated by the fact that off-duty cops were upset that they “got fooled by Facey” and that they wanted to “teach Chad a lesson …and the lesson is you don’t rip off cops.”
Au disagreed with Horgan’s assertion.
Facey was taken to a hospital later that day where he died. A forensic report entered into evidence said an “intercerebral hemorrhage” – or brain bleed – was the cause of death.
Au was originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault in Facey’s death before prosecutors downgraded the charges after a forensic pathology opinion. He has pleaded not guilty to assault causing bodily harm and is currently suspended with pay from the Toronto Police Service.
The trial is expected to resume on Tuesday.
