A Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer was found guilty of a lesser charge of assault in connection with an incident in 2021 involving a Brampton teenager who later died following a Kijiji sale gone wrong.
Superior Court Justice Jennifer Woollcombe announced the verdict in Brampton on Wednesday. Const. Calvin Au remains suspended with pay while the courts decide on sentencing.
Au pleaded not guilty to the charges, including assault causing bodily harm and manslaughter, which stemmed from an interaction on April 26, 2021, with 19-year-old Chadd Facey.
On that day, Au accompanied colleague TPS Const. Gurmakh Benning as he went to purchase an Apple watch he found on Kijiji from Facey. Au said he was there to ensure the watch was authentic and not fake. Au noted that after Benning had given Facey $400, he inspected the watch and determined it was fake, and that’s when Facey fled the scene.
Au described that they were in a vehicle chasing the teen through the Brampton neighbourhood before reaching a ravine, where Au said he began a foot pursuit. Au claimed that Benning eventually caught up with Facey. Feeling exhausted from the chase and fearing that Facey would not surrender, Au said he took the teen down and tackled him.
Facey’s health turned for the worse following the incident with Au. One of the teenager’s friends testified that Facey was “panting and out of breath” and was later hospitalized. He died the same night from a brain bleed.
Au testified that as he was leaving, he looked back and saw that Facey was getting up and that Benning had called 911. Neither officer filed a report.
Prosecutors argued that Au used excessive force when apprehending the teen and that there were other ways to approach the situation. Au disagreed, claiming 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.
The Toronto police officer also argued that while he was off-duty, he planned on arresting Facey in an effort to retrieve Benning’s money for the watch.
Teen’s family speaks out moments after judge’s ruling
Facey’s family members were present on Wednesday to hear the verdict. The teen’s mother, Fay Fagan, said that no decision will ever bring back her son.
“This is something that our family deals with every day – the loss of Chadd,” said Fay Fagan. “While Const. Au was convicted of assaulting Chadd; this is not the verdict that we had hoped for.
“However, the findings that the Judge made about Constable Au, his actions and his testimony bring me hope that Constable Au will continue to be held accountable for his actions that day,” she concluded.
Facey’s sister, Renae Facey, also issued a statement, saying the process has been a “long and hard one for my family.”
“We spent so much time not really knowing what happened to Chadd. It was difficult to sit in the courtroom and listen to what happened to Chadd that day in 2021,” Renae Facey said.
“I am happy that the judge has convicted Const. Au, holding him accountable for his actions. Even though he was found not guilty of the assault causing bodily harm, we continue to push for justice for Chadd and remember him every day.”
Justice Woollcombe’s judgment came after six days of trial proceedings, which began on Sept. 23, 2024, and ended on Oct. 2, 2024.