MANDEL: Toronto cop spared jail in assault of teen who later died -- but can't be trusted with 'deadly weapon'
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What a bitter pill to swallow.
In a Brampton courtroom Wednesday morning, suspended Toronto Police Const. Calvin Au, 34, avoided jail time and was handed a suspended sentence and a year’s probation for the violent takedown of 19-year-old Chadd Facey after he tried to sell a fake Apple watch. Hours after the assault, the teen died of an intracerebral hemorrhage.
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MANDEL: Toronto cop spared jail in assault of teen who later died -- but can't be trusted with 'deadly weapon' Back to video
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The only consolation for his family is that Superior Court Justice Jennifer Woollcombe also imposed anger management counselling for Au and more surprising, a three-year weapons ban with no exemption for his policing work.
So Au’s time as a cop could soon be officially done, especially after the judge’s damning assessment.
“I am very concerned that, despite all of his police training and experience, Au demonstrated the inability or unwillingness to assess a situation and then to use reasonable force,” Woollcombe said.
“My concerns are elevated were he to have any deadly weapon in the various volatile and challenging scenarios in which
police officers regularly find themselves. My concerns are rooted in the safety of the public, having regard to what I find to be Au’s poor judgment and inability to control himself.”
For Facey’s mom and sisters, though, it is hard to fathom how he has evaded any jail time.
“It’s very hard. I don’t think it’s fair,” said his mother, Fay Fagan, outside the courthouse. “I lost my child and for him to get 12 months probation? That’s not enough. Not even one day in jail? That’s not enough.”
His sisters Nicole and Tanisha Hutton were still trembling.
“It’s been a slap in the face to us and he gets a slap on the wrist,” Tanisha said. “He has zero remorse. He’s very angry. He’s never once looked to us to apologize.”
Even when offered a chance to address the court before his sentencing, the father of a three-year-old child declined to utter even one word of regret. How callous is that?
On April 26, 2021, Au was off-duty with his partner Gurmakh Benning to meet Facey to buy an Apple watch he was selling over Kijiji. But after paying him $400, they realized the watch was fake and began to chase the young Black teen to get back the cash.
After about five minutes, they caught up to him. Facey, 5-foot-10 and 128 pounds, was outnumbered and outmuscled by the larger officers.
“He’d given up,” Woollcombe said.
Benning snatched his money back.
“Unprovoked by the unarmed Facey, but still angry that this young man had got the better of them, Au failed to engage his police training to control and de-escalate the situation,” the judge continued.
“Instead, he opted to use violence, running at Facey and taking him to the ground in a situation, when doing so was unwarranted, unjustified, excessive and put Facey at risk of injury.”
Originally facing a manslaughter charge, that was withdrawn in September 2024 after prosecutors couldn’t prove Facey’s death was directly tied to being tackled. Woollcombe convicted Au last fall of assault — but acquitted him of assault causing bodily harm.
The Crown had urged her to impose a four-month prison sentence and a five-year weapons prohibition. The defence argued for a conditional discharge, noting that any time in custody would almost certainly result in his being fired.
So defence lawyer Peter Brauti was pleased with a suspended sentence, but admitted he was surprised by the weapons ban. No decision has been made yet on an appeal.
“This was a case that didn’t involve a weapon, didn’t involve a threat of a weapon,” Brauti said. “It doesn’t end his career necessarily but it’s obviously a significant factor that the service will consider.”
Police chief Myron Demkiw told reporters he hasn’t been briefed on the judgment details but will consider his “options” regarding Au’s future. Meanwhile, he remains suspended with pay as he awaits a disciplinary tribunal.
And more trouble lies ahead for this officer.
The Special Investigations Unit has reopened an investigation into an incident a month after the Facey assault where Au was initially cleared after firing four shots at an 18-year-old driver — narrowly missing his head — when the racialized teen tried to flee an underground garage.
In an April judgment, Superior Court Justice Heather McArthur stayed the charges against the teen after finding Au used unreasonable lethal force.
Sure looks like a pattern, doesn’t it?
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