Latest news with #policewatchdog
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Inspector who phoned sex workers on duty banned
A police inspector who made hundreds of calls on a force mobile phone to sex workers over six years, many while he was working, has been banned from policing. Greater Manchester Police said Toby Knight had resigned from the force on Wednesday, the day before he was due to appear before a disciplinary panel. The panel ruled that Insp Knight would have been sacked if he had not resigned. Amanda Rowe, director of the police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: "Insp Knight's actions are compounded by the fact the communication was so extensive and over a very long period of time." The IOPC, whose anti-corruption unit investigated Knight, said the officer, who had served for 17 years, was found to have "breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy, discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity and orders and instructions". He was arrested on 2 April 2024 and accepted during questioning he had contacted sex workers while on duty. A review of his work mobile phone calls identified adult sex workers were contacted 245 times between September 2018 and March 2024, with 176 calls taking place while he was working. In addition, a study of his personal mobile phone showed 357 communications with sex workers between May 2023 and April 2024 - 259 outgoing and 98 incoming. Investigators matched numbers on adverts for sex workers to those Knight had called. They also spoke with sex workers contacted by Knight who confirmed text exchanges with him. Ms Rowe also said: "Cases such as these have the real potential to impact on public confidence in the police." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Independent Office for Police Conduct
CTV News
4 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Man injured during Mental Health Act arrest in Surrey, B.C., watchdog says
Investigators from B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office are seen in this file photo from the IIO. A man was injured during a Mental Health Act arrest in Surrey, B.C., earlier this month, prompting an investigation by the province's police watchdog. The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. said the incident happened on the afternoon of May 9, while members of the Surrey RCMP Provincial Operations Support Unit were responding to a 'disturbance call' at a residential building near 34 Avenue and 152 Street. 'After arriving, officers located one man who had reportedly been in possession of a weapon and moved to detain him under the Mental Health Act,' the IIO said in a news release Tuesday. 'The man suffered injuries during the arrest process and was then taken to a hospital for treatment.' The watchdog didn't learn of the incident until May 21, when it was notified by the Surrey Police Service. It's unclear what led to the delay. An SPS spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by CTV News. An IIO spokesperson said these types of delays are typically the result of police being unaware of the severity of a person's injuries. 'Whether that was the case in this instance will be determined during the IIO investigation,' the spokesperson told CTV News, in an email. The IIO only investigates officer-involved incidents that result in death or serious harm, which includes injuries that cause serious disfigurement or disabilities. The watchdog is tasked with investigating those incidents whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing on the part of police.
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
SIU clears York Region police after man died following 'medical distress' in holding cell
Social Sharing Ontario's police watchdog says York Region police officers are not at fault after a man died in February after going into "medical distress" in a Richmond Hill holding cell. The man, 33, turned himself in at a police station on an arrest warrant for breach of probation around 3 p.m. on Feb. 11, according to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report, released Wednesday. Police searched the man and found a small bag that was later suspected to contain crystal methamphetamine, as well as a crack pipe, the report said. Close to midnight, the man was seen on video retrieving what appeared to be "a quantity of drugs from inside his underwear," the report says. He then formed white lines of powder with the substance and snorted them. Around 1 a.m., police contacted paramedics after they noticed the man was shaking after watching him on a video monitor. Officers attempted to speak to the man, who was unable to communicate other than to agree when asked if he suffered from seizures. The man then soon lost vital signs. Police performed CPR and administered a dose of nasal narcan. Paramedics took the man to the hospital. He was pronounced dead around 1:50 a.m. The man's cause of death is not yet known, the report said. Police quickly provided medical care, SIU director says In his decision, SIU Director Joseph Martino said the first concern in determining police liability was understanding how the man was able to bring and consume suspected drugs inside the cell. Martino said the police searches conducted before the man went into the cell "seem to have been conducted in a thorough fashion." As the drugs seem to have been in the man's underwear, he said it was not surprising police failed to find them. Officers did consider conducting a strip search, but that was denied by a sergeant. "Given the circumstances that prevailed – a detainee having turned himself in seemingly good health and unimpaired – I am unable to reasonably conclude that a strip search was necessarily warranted in this case," Martino wrote. Another issue was whether police sufficiently supervised the man when he was in custody. While police did not routinely physically check the man, Martino wrote he was checked via video monitor roughly every 30 minutes while in the cell, "and that none of those checks gave rise for concern." Martino also found officers detected the man's apparent drug consumption "in fairly short order" and quickly provided medical care.
CBC
22-05-2025
- CBC
Alberta police watchdog to investigate in-custody death in Fort McMurray
Alberta's police watchdog is investigating after a man died last month in the custody of RCMP in Fort McMurray. In a statement Thursday, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team said it has been directed to investigate after a man died on April 30 during an attempted arrest by Wood Buffalo RCMP officers. According to ASIRT, police had been called to respond to reports of an intoxicated male in the area of a gas station in the Abasand neighbourhood when a struggle ensued between two officers and the man. After being handcuffed, the man went into medical distress. He was brought to hospital where he was declared dead. Fort McMurray is about 430 kilometres north of Edmonton. ASIRT investigators said a review of security camera footage and video captured by RCMP vehicles at the scene indicate that the attempted arrest was witnessed by multiple people, including some who appear to be videotaping the incident. Anyone who witnessed the event, or took video of it, are asked to contact ASIRT. According to a May 1 RCMP news release, police were dispatched to the area of Athabasca Avenue and Abasand Drive at about 4:15 p.m. following reports of man causing a disturbance at a liquor store and outside of a nearby daycare. Officers responded and spoke with the man, but he refused to leave and then resisted arrest, police said. Police attempted life-saving measures before the man was taken to hospital.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
B.C. RCMP officer could face gun charges in on-duty shooting
Two years after a B.C. man was shot twice in the head, the province's police watchdog says the officer could face criminal charges.
