A Toronto police officer testified Wednesday he used a reasonable amount of force when he took down a Brampton teen he says tried to sell him and another off-duty officer a fake watch.
Cst. Calvin Au, who is charged with assault causing bodily harm in the death of 19-year-old Chad Facey, provided his side of the events that took place on April 26, 2021, for the first time.
Au testified he accompanied Cst. Gurmakh Benning as he went to purchase an Apple watch he found on Kijiji from Facey. Au said he was there to ensure that the watch was real and not fake. Au said after Benning gave Facey $400, he inspected the watch and determined it was fake and that’s when Facey fled the scene.
Au described as they chased the teen in a vehicle through the Brampton neighbourhood before reaching a ravine, at which point Au said he began a foot pursuit. Au then testified that Benning eventually caught up with Facey and, feeling exhausted from the chase and fearing that Facey would not surrender, that’s when he decided to take the teen down.
Au said he used a reasonable amount of force and not a “football tackle” to subdue Facey, adding he did not notice if the teen’s head or face hit the ground in the process.
Au said that’s when they saw another person run over to them and make a gesture on his pants which he thought might have been a weapon of some sort. At that point, both he and Benning got up and went back to their car and left the scene. Au said as he was leaving he looked back and saw that Facey was getting up and that Benning had called 911. However, neither of them filed a report.
Au also testified that it was about four months later when he learned Facey had died after Peel police contacted Benning,
Au, who was originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault before prosecutors downgraded the charges after a forensic pathology opinion, has pleaded not guilty. He is currently suspended with pay from the Toronto Police Service.
Prosecutors will continue their cross-examination on Thursday.
