Video captures Toronto police vehicle running over suspect, arresting officer on weekend
WARNING: Viewers might find content of video upsetting
Muriel Draaisma · CBC News · Posted: Nov 03, 2025 5:53 PM CST | Last Updated: 9 hours ago
Video shows Toronto police vehicle driving over suspect during arrest November 3News
Video that circulated online over the weekend shows a Toronto police cruiser driving over a suspect during an arrest. CBC's Dale Manucdoc breaks down what we know about the incident. Warning: This video may be distressing for some viewers.
A dramatic video circulating on social media shows a Toronto police vehicle "inadvertently" running over a female suspect and an officer during an arrest on the weekend.
Toronto police said in an email on Monday that they are aware of the video and reviewing the circumstances of the arrest.
At about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, police said they responded to reports of a woman with knives, allegedly damaging vehicles, in a plaza parking lot in the area of Jane Street and Alliance Avenue, south of Eglinton Avenue W.
Police said the woman, 23, was arrested and charged with one count of weapons dangerous and four counts of mischief under. She appeared in court on Sunday.
In the video posted by 6ixBuzzTV on X, formerly Twitter, the suspect is struck with a conducted energy weapon. She screams and falls to the ground. A few officers come running over and one officer hops out of a police vehicle. That vehicle rolls forward, colliding with the suspect and an arresting officer.
The officer then jumps back into the vehicle to regain control of it and it rushes forward. The suspect can be heard screaming and one officer can be heard yelling for the driver to backup. The vehicle runs over the suspect's legs again. Other officers restrain the suspect, telling her to stop resisting.
Neither the suspect nor the officer was seriously injured, according to police.
Police failure to put vehicle in park called 'careless'Steven Summerville, a retired staff sergeant with the Toronto police, said in an interview on Monday that he thinks the officer forgot to put the vehicle in park in the heat of the moment and it wasn't a deliberate act.
Summerville, who has taught police vehicle operations, said he thinks when the officer attended the call, his heart rate and blood pressure might have gone up, and with his focus on getting out of the vehicle to help, he overlooked putting the vehicle in park.
"I'm not going to suggest for a second there was intent behind this. But was it careless? Sure," Summerville said.
"Before we point fingers and make accusations, we're all human beings, police officers included."
Summerville said people do make mistakes in critical moments.
"Probably the officer would never do something like that again," he said.
Toronto Police Service headquarters is shown here. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)
Stephanie Sayer, spokesperson for the police, said in an email on Monday that police are aware of the video showing the incident in the Jane Park Plaza parking lot.
"To safely disarm the individual, a conducted energy weapon (CEW) was deployed. As officers moved to take the suspect into custody, another officer arrived on scene to assist. During this response, the officer’s vehicle inadvertently rolled forward into both the suspect and one of the arresting officers," Sayer said.
WATCH | Neither suspect nor police officer had serious injuries:
Video shows Toronto police running over suspect during arrest
Video taken by a bystander shows a Toronto police vehicle running over a suspect during an arrest in a parking lot. No one was seriously injured and police say ‘the officer’s vehicle inadvertently rolled forward,’ during the arrest.
Sayer said Toronto paramedics assessed the suspect and officer, and both were medically cleared.
She said the suspect was taken to hospital for further assessment because she had been struck by the CEW, which is in keeping with police procedures.
"We are actively reviewing the circumstances and are grateful there were no serious injuries during this dynamic incident," Sayer added.
The video is not the only one circulating online of the incident. Another video, posted to YouTube by MadLab Press, shows the suspect from two angles before she is run over.
At one point, the suspect is seen holding two large knives and slashing the tires of at least two police vehicles while officers are inside. Police have not said if they are aware of this video.
Toronto Paramedic Services, for its part, said it took one person to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and another patient was assessed on scene but didn't need to go to hospital.
Police watchdog not notified of incidentOntario's Special Investigations Unit said it was not notified about the incident because the suspect was not reportedly seriously injured.
The SIU is called in to investigate any time police are involved in an incident that results in death, serious injuries, allegations of sexual assault, and the discharge of a firearm at a person.
In a statement on X, Toronto Police Association vice-president Brian Callanan said the organization is aware there is video online of the incident.
"Thankfully, our members were not seriously injured. The woman did not sustain any injuries from the police vehicle and was taken to hospital for the Taser deployment."
With files from Dale Manucdoc |
