A lawyer is calling for the province’s Special Investigations Unit to look into incidents where police fire at — but don’t injure — individuals after his client’s impaired driving charges were dismissed in part because a Toronto police officer fired a shot in the direction of the unarmed man as he was walking away.Const. Anita Watton is facing disciplinary charges under the Police Services Act for excessive use of force and failing to comply with police training standards for firearm use, following an investigation by the Toronto police Professional Standards Unit. According to the disciplinary tribunal documents, it is alleged that she fired in the direction of Sanchayan Rajasingam, though he posed no imminent threat to her or the public. A tribunal hearing is scheduled for next year. No criminal charges were laid. When reached by the Star, Watton’s lawyer, Gary Clewley, refused to comment. Surveillance video obtained by the Star shows the shooting, which took place shortly before 11 a.m. on March 29, 2017. In it, Watton can be seen to fire in the direction of Rajasingam as he had his back to her. Before Watton could testify at Rajasingam’s trial, which began Monday at the Scarborough courthouse, the impaired driving charges were dismissed by Ontario Court Justice Frank Crewe at the request of the Crown. Rajasingam’s defence lawyer, Aghi Balachandran, told the court that there should be an external investigation into the case and measures taken to prevent such a thing from happening again. He added that while Watton received medical attention following the shooting — a police witness testified she was “rattled, shaken up from the whole incident” — his client did not. “The psychological effect of this whole experience has been great on him,” Balachandran told the court. The SIU is an independent body which investigates incidents involving police where there is serious injury or d ...
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