The family of a Toronto man with severe mental illness says he was left unconscious and on life support after he was involved in a violent confrontation with police in late December.
Alban Francis was arrested Dec. 28 at an apartment building near Jane Street and Woolner Avenue after police were called about a man assaulting another man with a staple gun.
The province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has launched an investigation to arrest Francis after he was seriously injured.
Family members of Francis, some of whom said they went to the apartment the morning they learned the police had been called, say he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and the situation was not handled accordingly.
“The police used the force they used on my brother – they shouldn't have used that force on my brother,” said David Honore, Francis' brother.
“They could have handled it in a better position.”
See | The Family's Question of Use of Force in Police Interactions:
The family of a man involved in a violent confrontation with police in December is speaking out after being hospitalized. The province's Special Investigations Unit, which looks into police conduct when someone is seriously injured or killed, is now investigating the incident. As the CBC's Dale Manucdoc reports, the family says the man deals with mental illness – and was handled 'like a criminal'.
The victim, who called 911 himself, was Marlon Prosper, Francis' neighbor and longtime friend.
The family does not know if Francis is on the Toronto police's vulnerable persons register, a list that indicates to first responders that certain care is needed when interacting with someone.
But they say Francis has had previous mental health episodes involving police, and believe his condition was known to them or his behavior should have indicated they were dealing with someone with mental illness.
Francis' niece Janice Honore says she questions how police tried to defuse the situation, given the extent of her uncle's injuries.
“I'm not sure what methods they used, but the end result was that there was no de-escalation for me and my family to fight mental health illness because the end result, he's in the hospital ICU.”
The police station is investigating
A news release from the SIU says officers found Francis in a hallway and approached them with a staple gun.
One officer fired a shoe round and struck Francis, and several others tried to Taser him, the news release said.
Francis then barricaded himself in his apartment unit. An officer fired a gun, but did not hit the man, the news release said.
After trying to negotiate with Francis, police eventually forced their way inside the apartment and used more conducted energy weapons and blunt impact projectiles, another type of less-lethal weapon, before taking Francis into custody.
A Toronto police spokeswoman said police were not responding to a distress call, and a second call was received at the same location for a person with a gun.
Francis was charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, causing bodily harm and assaulting an officer, the spokesman said.
Honore said her uncle has since been upgraded to stable condition, but her family is concerned about the long-term effects of the experience and his ability to live independently. She says her uncle was badly injured on the right side of his face and may lose his right eye.
“Pretty much his whole life would change dramatically,” she said.
“Just thinking about it. It's overwhelming for us.”
Honore says her family wanted to speak out about what happened in hopes that no one with mental illness will ever have the same experience with police as they did here.
