A city watchdog has identified serious flaws with an internal TTC investigation that largely exonerated three fare inspectors who forcibly detained a young Black man on a streetcar platform last year. In a report released Thursday, Toronto Ombudsman Susan Opler concluded that while the transit agency’s investigation into the conduct of its own officers had some positive aspects, it was “not adequately thorough, fair, and transparent” to support its conclusions about the Feb. 18, 2018 incident.The confrontation between the inspectors and the young man on the St. Clair streetcar route was caught on video and raised concerns about the behaviour of transit officers. In footage that was shot by a bystander and widely circulated online, the man, Reece Maxwell-Crawford, can be heard crying “I didn’t do anything though” and “you’re hurting me” as he’s pinned to the ground by a trio of TTC inspectors as well as Toronto police officers who came to assist them.A 101-page investigation the TTC released in July 2018 found insufficient evidence to support allegations of misconduct, aside from concluding that one of the fare inspectors had inappropriately smiled at the young man, who was 19 at the time. The ombudsman, an accountability officer responsible for overseeing municipal employees, launched her own inquiry into the TTC investigation last year. Her resulting report didn’t examine the incident itself, which is now the subject of a lawsuit Maxwell-Crawford has brought against the transit agency alleging discrimination on basis of his race, colour, ancestry, ethnic origin, place of origin, or citizenship.Read more:Man suing TTC claims violent assault a case of ‘racial profiling’But Opler concluded that the TTC investigation failed to ask enough questions, make clear findings of fact about key aspects of the case, and apply the correct standard of proof to determine whether misconduct had taken p ...
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