Nearly three years after Dafonte Miller was seriously injured in a beating on a residential Whitby street, the Toronto police officer and his brother charged in the case are set to stand trial in an Oshawa courtroom Tuesday.Centring on the actions of Const. Michael Theriault and Christian Theriault on a frigid December 2016 morning, the high-profile case has nonetheless come to represent issues far greater than an isolated incident.What began with the severe beating of a young Black man has ballooned into allegations of an attempted coverup and a failure of police oversight, inspiring protests, online campaigns supporting Miller and calls for accountability.“The facts as we know them now speak to larger issues in the justice system in general, and police oversight in particular,” said Kate Puddister, assistant professor of political science at the University of Guelph, who focuses on police accountability.“I think there’s going to be a lot of public attention on this case.”Michael and Christian Theriault are jointly charged with aggravated assault and separately for attempting to obstruct justice in connection to the Dec. 28, 2016 beating. Then 19, Miller sustained serious injuries, including damage to his eye so severe it had to be removed, a broken orbital bone, broken nose and fractured wrist.None of the charges the brothers face have been proven in court.The judge-alone trial is set to begin Tuesday before Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca. Michael Theriault has been suspended with pay from the Toronto police since July 2017. His lawyer Michael Lacy said, given the proximity to the trial, “it would not be appropriate to discuss the allegations or anticipated evidence.” Alan Gold, the lawyer representing Christian Theriault, could not be reached for comment Friday. Michael Theriault is also facing professional misconduct charges under Ontario’s Police Services Act. Police documents outlining the allegations ...
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