SIU investigating after man falls from apartment window during negotiations with Toronto police

Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after a 32-year-old man in Toronto fell from an apartment window and died at thescene during negotiations withpoliceThursday evening.

According to a Friday release from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), officers were called to a high-rise apartment at Jane Street and Finch Avenue West around 4:30 p.m. for reportsof a man "throwing objects" from a balcony to the ground.

Three officers arrived and attempted to negotiate with the man, the releasesays. An additionalthree officers from theEmergency Task Forcearrived to talk withthe man from an adjoining apartment, according to the SIU.

The unitis called to investigate when people are killed or seriously injured ininteractions with police officers in Ontario.The SIU also investigates confrontations in which policedischargea firearm at a person or when allegations of sexual assault are made against officers.

The unitinvestigated an incidentinvolving Toronto policetwo years ago in which a young woman fell to her death.

In May of 2020,Regis Korchinski-Paquet fellfrom her 24th-floor apartment balcony while officerswere in her home. The SIU cleared the fiveofficers of wrongdoing months later,saying while their efforts to de-escalate the situation were unsuccessful, none of them broke the law.

In Thursday's incident, the SIU says"in the course of negotiations, the man fell from the apartment window to the ground below," and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The unit says four investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the case. It says it has designatedsix "witness officials."

The SIU is appealing to anyone who may have information about the investigation to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529 or online.